839.415/168

Memorandum by the Deputy Director of the Office of American Republic Affairs (Bonsal)32

On February 14 Mr. Charles Taussig had a conversation with President Roosevelt, following which Mr. Taussig called on me and conveyed certain instructions from the President as follows:

(1)
That President Lescot of Haiti be informed that it is President Roosevelt’s own wish that the proposed border meeting between Lescot and Trujillo take place during the Dominican Centennial celebrations (it will be recalled that Lescot’s answer on this has been delayed). A telegram conveying the President’s message was dispatched on February 14.33
(2)
That President Roosevelt, while confiding in the good intentions of both Presidents, will hold their Governments jointly responsible for any breach of the peace between the two countries sharing the island, that he will not try to determine who was the aggressor and that in the event of trouble he is disposed to “quarantine” both countries. The President apparently intends to convey this message to Lescot and Trujillo via Mr. Taussig. Telegrams giving advance confidential information on this to Ambassadors White and Warren are attached.34
(3)
That President Roosevelt desires that the border meeting of the two Presidents be given major emphasis in connection with the Dominican Centennial celebration. In consequence Mr. Taussig is to delay his departure so as to arrive especially for the border meeting at which time he will convey to the two Presidents a message along the lines described in (2) above. The President, while fully aware of the background of the Trujillo-Lescot relationship, is delighted with the tone of Trujillo’s invitation to Lescot for the border meeting.
(4)
The President has authorized Mr. Taussig to tell Trujillo that if he (Trujillo) comes to the United States he will be entertained at the White House in the same way as Lescot and other Presidents. Mr. Taussig tells me that, on the basis of a recent conversation with the Secretary, he felt justified in telling the President that the Department would not object to Trujillo’s visiting the White House. A telegram transmitting this information to Ambassador Warren for his confidential information only is attached.35
(5)
That Trujillo be told there is an agreement among the United Nations eschewing formal garb for the duration and therefore asking Trujillo on behalf of President Roosevelt to change his plans for the Centennial to the extent of eliminating morning coats and white ties. A telegram conveying this message is attached.36

With all due respect for Mr. Taussig, it is my view that before the President’s instructions as set forth in numbered paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 above are carried out, the President should have the benefit of the Department’s views on these topics conveyed by the Acting Secretary. Those views might be expressed as follows:

(a)
Although both Haiti and the Dominican Republic are at fault in the present situation, it is the Department’s view that Trujillo has been consistently more aggressive. This view was recently conveyed to Trujillo. For this Government now to take the extreme stand that, in the event of trouble, both countries would be “quarantined” would seem neither fair, nor consistent, nor perhaps compatible with the inter-American system if it is meant to call for unilateral action on our part. Therefore, the President should at present in connection with the border meeting merely reiterate his confidence that the two Governments will keep the peace and adhere to their inter-American commitments for the peaceable settlement of difficulties.
(b)
That Mr. Taussig should proceed as originally planned in order to represent this Government throughout the Centennial celebrations; any other course, and particularly that proposed of having him delay his arrival until the border meeting, would be a gratuitous affront to the Dominican Government and people whose celebration this is.
(c)
That for Trujillo to be entertained officially at the White House would offend democratic public opinion here and in the other American Republics and would encourage throughout the Hemisphere trends toward murder, dictatorship and personal profit as methods and symbols of Government. The Department has heretofore not urged upon the President the reception of any President not reasonably decent in his methods and outlook—at least at the time of his visit here! The Acting Secretary may wish to consult the Secretary by telephone on this point. I do not believe there is any record available in the Department of the Secretary’s conversation with Mr. Taussig on this subject, referred to in numbered paragraph (4) above.
(d)
That for the President, at this late date, to convey a message to Trujillo regarding what should be worn at the Centennial festivities would put Trujillo in an unnecessarily embarrassing portion before his own people.

This is a matter of the very greatest urgency.37

Philip W. Bonsal
  1. Addressed to the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius) and to the Director, Office of American Republic Affairs (Duggan).
  2. Supra.
  3. Telegram 72, February 14, 1944, 8 p.m., quoted for Ambassador Warren the contents of telegram 48, supra.
  4. Telegram not sent.
  5. Telegram 73, February 15, 1944, 7 p.m. (not printed). President Trujillo acceded to this request (839.415/141).
  6. Mr. Stettinius initialed this memorandum with the following comment: “I most emphatically share Mr. Bonsal’s views. If you [Duggan] hold contrary opinions, Mr. Bonsal and I would appreciate opportunity of speaking with you.”