884.515/34e Suppl: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Ethiopia (Caldwell)
42. Treasury has been informed by its representative at Cairo, Gunter, that “Legation at Addis Ababa has taken no action on lend-leasing silver to Ethiopia on the grounds that no instructions to do so have been received.”
The following telegrams have been sent to you:
- 1.
- Department’s no. 1589 to Cairo for Gunter from Treasury, repeated to Addis Ababa, containing general information as to the procedure to be followed.
- 2.
- Department’s no. 1588 to Cairo for Gunter from Treasury repeated to Addis Ababa, containing a suggested letter of request to be signed by an appropriate representative of the Ethiopian Government and forwarded to the Secretary of the Treasury.
- 3.
- Department’s no. 13 to Addis Ababa from Treasury, containing the text of an agreement which must be signed by an appropriate [Page 119] representative of the Ethiopian Government and forwarded to the Office of Lend-Lease Administration, Washington, D. C.
- 4.
- Department’s no. 1447 to Addis Ababa from Treasury, containing the text of the receipt which must be given by a duly authorized representative of the Ethiopian Government when the coins are delivered.
You are hereby specifically authorized to assist the Ethiopian Government to complete the letter of request and the agreement, which you should then transmit to the Department by diplomatic pouch. You should inform the Department by telegram when these documents have been signed, and Treasury will proceed with minting of coins.
With regard to the signature of the request and the agreement, the signature of an appropriate official of the Ethiopian Government will suffice if the Emperor does not wish to sign the documents personally, but in such case we suggest that the Emperor should be asked to sign a letter or publish a decree designating the appropriate official and authorizing him to sign. The letter or decree should contain a reasonably clear indication of the content of the documents the official is authorized to sign. Please advise the Department as to the form of authorization which in your opinion will best guarantee that the agreement to return the silver will be permanently valid and binding upon the Ethiopian Government, and will at the same time accord with customary practice on such matters in Ethiopia.
Since there is now an Ethiopian Legation in Washington, and the coins will be minted here, Treasury suggests that transfer of the coins for the receipt take place here. The official who would sign the receipt in Ethiopia could probably delegate his authority to Ethiopian Minister here. Please discuss this with appropriate officials in Ethiopia and report to the Department.
Sent to Addis Ababa, repeated to Gunter at Cairo.
- October 23, not printed.↩