740.25112A/11–2445: Airgram
The Ambassador in Chile (Bowers) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 10—4:26 p.m.]
A–613. Reference is made to the Department’s telegram of November 207 and Embassy’s telegram 1458 dated November 21, 1945,8 with reference to recent conversations celebrated in Washington on the subject of the Proclaimed List with Sr. Julio Ruíz, member of the local Economic Controls Commission and Under Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Commerce.9
On November 21, 1945, Mr. Dunn and Mr. Chavez of the Embassy staff called on Sr. Aliaga, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Controls Commission, to discuss the contents of the Department’s referred to communication. Sr. Aliaga appeared very surprised at the position taken by Sr. Ruíz in his discussions in Washington. Sr. Aliaga stated that it was highly inadvisable to consider [Page 785] the abolishment of the Proclaimed List for Chile before the peace treaty was signed with Germany in view of the unfinished phases of the local replacement program and the large amount of German assets now under control of the Chilean Government. Sr. Aliaga appeared very apprehensive regarding the advisability of withdrawing the Proclaimed List for Chile within the next 6 or 7 months.
Although Chile has substantially completed the local control program providing for the complete elimination or replacement of Axis spearhead firms and institutions, the following firms are merely in the preliminary stages of liquidation: Química Bayer Compañía, Limitada, Compañía General de Anilinas y Productos Químicos, Sooiedad Limitada, Merck, Química Chilena, Sociedad Limitada, Sociedad Forestal Curiche Limitada, and Hamdorfy Compañía.
In view of the recent decision of the Chilean Government to cancel all German trade marks, the liquidation of these firms will be considerably expedited. The problem of the final disposition of the German trade marks belonging to these firms had held in abeyance their final liquidation. It is anticipated that it will require approximately 3 months hence to put into effect the necessary measures in bringing about the complete and final elimination of these firms as well as the final disposition of Axis trade marks registered in Chile. In addition, there are a number of pro-German newspapers of small circulation against which the Chilean Government contemplates taking control measures, among these newspapers figure: “Condor”, “La Semana Internacional”, and “El Roto”.
It was agreed between the representatives of the Embassy and Sr. Aliaga to review the Proclaimed List for Chile subsequent to the 26th of November deletions with the possibility of recommending further cases on their merits to Washington; however, it is the opinion of the Embassy based on recent discussions that the local Government is not particularly concerned regarding further deletions except for rare cases considered strictly from the political viewpoint.
The Embassy has not observed any recent newspaper comments on the operation of the Proclaimed List in Chile, nor public comments of noticeable degree other than the propaganda and criticisms usually carried on by the Proclaimed-Listed Germans.
The Embassy communicated informally to the Controls Commission the contents of the Department’s Instruction on the subject of vesting all external German assets by the Allied Control Council as contained in the Department’s Circular Instruction dated November 17, 1945.10
- No. 888, not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Sr. Ruíz, in these conversations, had requested complete withdrawal of the Proclaimed List.↩
- Not printed. For documentation on the participation of the United States in the Control Council for Germany, see vol. iii, pp. 820 ff.↩