740.0011 European War 1939/28323
The Chargé in Liberia (Hibbard) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 5.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my despatch no. 15 of January 28, 1943, regarding the visit of President Roosevelt to Liberia. In the absence of any daily newspapers or radio broadcasts in this country, it has taken some time for the news of the President’s visit to reach the general public. Sufficient time has now elapsed, however, to judge the effect of this unexpected honor on the population. On the whole it has been greeted with enthusiastic wonderment as never in the wildest flights of their fertile imaginations had the people dreamed that the President of the United States would visit their country. The details of the visit have naturally been embroidered and exaggerated and there has been the greatest speculation as to the subjects of discussion with President Barclay.
The supporters of the administration and the True Whig Party have taken the visit as setting the seal of approval upon the present regime. President Barclay appears to share this view. He was greatly impressed by the charm and the cordiality of our President, who made him feel at ease at once. He has told me in general terms the character of their conversation and they seem to have hit upon common ground in their discussion of world social and economic problems. Although not especially demonstrative, it is quite evident that President Barclay is thrilled with the prospects of his official visit to the United States and is eagerly anticipating it. Rather to my surprise he has informed me that he will take the successful candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections to the United States with him as he feels that any problems discussed will be carried on in the following administration.3 As the True Whig Party has a strangle hold on the political machinery of the country, it is obvious that the Honorable W. V. S. Tubman, formerly Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and the presidential nominee of that party, will be elected although the President makes a pretense of not naming him directly as his successor. While Tubman’s nomination was engineered entirely by President Barclay, I had felt that he might not wish to share the glory of this visit with another. The fact that he has agreed to do so seems to me to be very advantageous to us as the outstanding problems of our relations to Liberia can be frankly discussed with both. Tubman is much more approachable than Barclay, being not so warped by color prejudice and believing more completely in cooperation [Page 659] with outside interests. He is not as strong as Barclay, but I do not feel that he will be entirely dominated by the latter although unquestionably as an elder statesman Barclay will continue to be a power in the country.
The Opposition, led by Mr. James F. Cooper, has expressed regret that President Roosevelt’s visit was not longer and that they were therefore denied an opportunity to present their position. There are many educated natives in this group who feel strongly that the United States has a moral obligation in preventing the continued exploitation of the aborigines by the Americo-Liberian oligarchy. Many of their contentions are valid, but this is a problem which will require careful study in determining our future course of action and can probably be solved only in the general social readjustment following the present war.
Respectfully yours,
- President Barclay and President-elect Tubman arrived in the United States on May 26, 1943, and remained until June 18, 1943.↩