800.515/627

The Secretary of State to the Acting Secretary of the Treasury ( Bell )

My Dear Mr. Bell: Note has been taken of the various pieces of information conveyed by your letter of April 24, 1943 as regards which you may find the following comments useful:

(1)
It is gratifying to learn that the British Government agrees that they will not use British Military Authority pound notes in Tripolitania, but instead will use lira notes with special overprinting.17
(2)
The information contained in your second and third paragraphs concerning the views of the Allied Governments-in-exile as to the type of currency to be used in the event of entry into their territories and the plans of the British Government, seem to me tentatively to warrant acceptance. However, before the Department could definitely commit itself, it would wish to hear the views of both the Treasury and the War Department fully; and it may be that judgment must be reserved until the facts of any particular situation are more fully established. Mr. Herbert Feis, the Adviser on International Economic Affairs of the Department, will remain available for further discussion of these questions with yourself and the War Department.
(3)
I agree with the Treasury’s reply to Sir Frederick Phillips regarding the participation of Mr. Casaday. I presume that the British Treasury fully understands that all of these matters require joint decision, and that they will not proceed except in agreement with us.

Sincerely yours,

Cordell Hull
  1. The lire currency situation in Tripolitania was outlined in a letter of September 20, 1943, from Mr. A. T. K. Grant of the British Treasury which was transmitted to the Department by Mr. Harry Dexter White in his letter of October 1, 1943 (not printed); Mr. Grant stated that in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, Metropolitan lire (except for the smallest denominations) were being replaced by lire issued by military authority of Tripolitania and that this was expected to have started as from September 15, 1943 (865C.5151/6).