811.79682/33: Telegram
The Minister in Liberia (Walton) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 23—noon.]
131. Department’s 84, December 17, 4 p.m.21 While in conference with President Barclay today he transmitted Pan American Airways contract for legislative approval by joint action of Senate and House.
At today’s conference, President Barclay made the following statement:
“The offer made by the War Department to assist Liberia in the construction of an arterial road system will be accepted by the Liberian Government when formally made. In consideration of this offer the question of rent from Pan American Airways for lands on which air fields are established will be waived by the Liberian Government. There are, however, some questions which will arise if, as and when, as now appears, these proposed air fields will be used by the United States for military purposes.
The strategic importance of the airfields being established in Liberia is not only recognized by the War Department but indeed is strongly emphasized in the message you were good enough to read to me. This fact gives force to the views advanced, in our last conference and gives point to my claim that the Liberian Government is by every reasonable consideration entitled to some substantial assistance should these air fields be put to military and probably belligerent uses by the Government of the United States. In such an event this country and its inhabitants without any doubt will be liable to retaliatory [Page 545] action by the enemies of the United States if, while nominally neutral, the Liberian Government should grant the United States the use of its territories for belligerent purposes.
If again the Liberian Government should assume openly a belligerent status and range itself as it would without question do beside the United States and its Allies, the situation for Liberia would be equally if not more serious. Your Government naturally would defend the bases it establishes. It however will rest under no obligation unless it has expressedly and formally undertaken so to do, to protect and defend the whole of Liberia. It could not reasonably be expected to undertake this defense in the absence of any formal obligation.
The duty of the Liberian Government to equip its self-defense is obligatory and unavoidable. Even should the United States Government formally undertake the obligation defending Liberia from enemy attack, it surely would expect the fullest cooperation of such forces as Liberia could mobilize for the purpose. Such cooperation would be as obligatory on Liberia as the duty self-defense. This possibility of attack inevitably requires preparations to meet it and would impose upon the Liberian Government the enlargement of its defensive forces, the training, arming, equipping, and subsisting them, the laying out of strategic roads and the increasing of communication facilities at a cost not at present within the unaided financial capacity of the Liberian Government.
I shall appreciate it if you could impress the appropriate authorities at Washington with the importance to Liberia of a favorable consideration of this question of assistance in the circumstances mentioned above.”
- Not printed.↩