Office of the Historian

815.24 FLC/8–2547

The Ambassador in Honduras (Daniels) to the Secretary of State

restricted
No. 2899
Tegucigalpa, August 25, 1947.

Sir: With reference to the Embassy’s despatch No. 2844 of June 30, 1947 and the Department’s telegram No. 67 of July 23, 1947, 6:00 P.M.,8 I have the honor to report that this morning a contract was concluded between the Government of Honduras and the Foreign Liquidation Commission whereby the latter opened a credit of $450,000 available to the Government of Honduras for purchases of surplus war material now being liquidated by the FLC.9 The contract, a copy of which is enclosed, was signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and War for the Honduran Government,10 and by Mr. Robert F. Edgar, [Page 740] Central Field Commissioner for Latin America, on behalf of the FLC. The signatures were witnessed by Dr. Marcos Carías Reyes, Private Secretary of President Carías, and by Colonel James Y. Adams, Chief of the United States Military Mission.

The Government of Honduras plans to make immediate purchases of material now in the Canal Zone, particularly heavy engineering equipment. Colonel Adams plans to proceed to the Canal Zone to assist in the selection and purchasing of this material, though all responsibility for purchasing and shipping equipment to Honduras will rest with the Honduran Government.

Article First, Section 4(b) provides that the Government of Honduras may make payment for the material purchased in the form of real property and improvements to real property in Honduras. It is anticipated and recommended that this procedure be followed, so that all payments by Honduras for surplus material may be applied to the acquisition of Embassy sites and the construction of suitable buildings, both for the Chancery and for the residence. Mr. Edgar has told me that his office will keep the Department and the Embassy currently informed regarding actual purchases made by Honduras under this contract and the corresponding amount of dollar obligations incurred by Honduras which may be applied to the building program under this clause.

Respectfully yours,

Paul C. Daniels
  1. Neither printed.↩
  2. An amendment to the contract was signed on December 3, 1947, extending it to January 31, 1948.↩
  3. Silverio Laínez, Minister of Foreign Relations; Juan Manuel Galvez, Minister of War, Navy, and Aviation.↩