710.Consultation(2)/414: Telegram
The American Delegate (Hull) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received 9:25 p.m.]
9. For Secretary Morgenthau66 from White.67 Secretary Hull raised with me the question as to the desirability of our Government being able to give confidentially to some of the other Foreign Ministers at this conference some indication of what our Government is prepared to do in the way of monetary assistance. We think that Secretary Hull would find it very helpful if and when he deems it appropriate he were able on your authorization to make orally the following statement or something like it either directly or through Berle68 in private conversations with the heads of the delegations:
“I understand that should any Latin American Government approach the Secretary of the Treasury he is prepared to give immediate and sympathetic consideration to specific proposals involving American assistance for cooperative arrangements directed at stabilization of the foreign exchange relationship between the dollar and the currency of that country and the strengthening of the monetary and banking system of that country. Any such monetary cooperation is envisaged only when it is part of a broad program of cooperation between the countries directed toward the attainment of the objectives as outlined in my address before the conference.”
The transaction implied by this statement is presumably one involving essentially a loan of United States gold and dollars out of the stabilization fund with the currency of the other country as collateral. The statement doubtless will be interpreted in some such manner by any person to whom it is made. The term cooperative arrangement is inserted to indicate that certain conditions that you may prescribe [Page 239] would have to be met by the other country before an arrangement could be consummated. Although the statement is so phrased as to commit you to no specific action it does commit you to serious consideration of any plan that may be brought to you and seems further to commit you to the expectation that favorable action will result in some cases provided the country in question has on its part cooperated adequately with us on other parts of the general program. [White.]
- Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury.↩
- Harry Dexter White, Director of Monetary Research, Department of the Treasury; Adviser to the Secretary of State at the Second Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs.↩
- Adolf A. Berle, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State, and Adviser, American delegation, Second Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs.↩