837.61351/2356
The Ambassador in Cuba (Messersmith) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 19.]
Sir: I have the honor to inform the Department that the Minister of State, Dr. Cortina, requested me last evening to call on him this morning as he had a memorandum which he wished to deliver to me. I called on him this morning and he handed me the appended communication from the Cuban Government with the memorandum attached,34 in which the Cuban Government requests the assistance of our Government through the Import-Export Bank in the financing of 500,000 tons of sugar.
The Minister made quite a number of observations which I am not able to transmit in this despatch as I have just returned from the long conversation which I have had with him, and the airmail is leaving within the next hour.
The Minister stated that he hoped that our Government would be able to give immediate consideration to this request of the Cuban [Page 228] Government as the grinding season would begin shortly and whatever action was taken would have to be taken without delay. He said that this assistance was of immediate and imperative necessity for the maintenance of the economy and social situation in Cuba.
I told him that I would transmit this communication without delay to my Government and that I could make no observations with regard to the memorandum as the details of such an operation as that proposed by the Cuban Government would have to be dealt with by the Import-Export Bank and other Departments and agencies of our Government in collaboration with the Department of State. The only observation I made in this connection was that he knew that in our conversations I had always expressed the opinion that the maintenance of sugar production at present levels in Cuba was the most important factor in maintaining the Cuban economy under the conditions which we had to envisage for the next year and for probably several years longer.
The Minister stated that this request of the Cuban Government was separate and apart from the loan negotiations in progress. In connection with the loan negotiations, he would give me next week for transmission to the Department a memorandum of proposals of the Cuban Government with respect to the loan.
I shall transmit by the airmail tomorrow a more complete report on this request of the Cuban Government with such observations and recommendations which this Embassy may be in a position to make. I may say at this time that I believe that the present request of the Cuban Government should be considered as carefully and as benevolently as may be in our power, as I am of the opinion that no one thing which we can do for Cuba will be of more immediate benefit to Cuba and to us than appropriate steps to maintain for the present year, and if possible for several years longer, the production of sugar in Cuba at present levels.
Respectfully yours,
- Neither printed.↩