811F.06/6–650

The Secretary of Defense (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

confidential

My Dear Mr. Secretary: Reference is made to your letter of 17 January 19501 and the enclosed memorandum2 setting forth the view of the Department of State on the obligations of the United States with respect to equality of employment opportunity and treatment of citizens of the Republic of Panama under the accessory note to the 1936 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Panama.3

Two broad questions are covered by the memorandum which accompanied your letter, namely: (1) The applicability of the note (i.e., whether it is limited to the Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad Company or applies also to other United States agencies operating in the Canal Zone); and (2) The obligation of the United States under the note.

With respect to the first of these questions, it appears to be the conclusion of the Department of State that the note applies to the three military departments in the Canal Zone, despite its specific reference (in two places) only to the Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad Company. I believe that this conclusion should be the subject of further discussion between the Department of State and the Department of Defense, in view of what appears to me to be the clear and unequivocal language of the note itself.

I recognize that, in order to minimize friction between the United [Page 973] States and Panama and to achieve desirable coordination of employment practices within the Canal Zone it may be wise to consider extending to Panamanians employed by any agency of the United States in the Zone the privileges reserved by the treaty note to Panamanians employed by the Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad Company. However, it is one thing to take this step on a voluntary basis, as a friendly gesture on the part of the United States and after we have an understanding as to just what our commitments are, and quite another thing to agree that the terms of this accessory note are legally binding upon all United States agencies in the Canal Zone, without more definite knowledge as to the effect of such a decision upon the operations of the three military departments in the Zone.

With respect to the second of the broad questions covered by the memorandum which accompanied your letter, I consider it important that there be a determination as to the extent of the commitments of the United States under this accessory note, in terms of specific problems. Until this is done, it seems to me that the United States lays itself open to unfounded charges that it fails to live up to its obligations to Panamanians under the Treaty.

The State Department is, of course, the agency which should take the lead in making these determinations. This should not, however, be a unilateral undertaking. The Department of Defense, the Panama Canal, the Panama Railroad Company, and other interested Federal agencies (such as the Bureau of the Budget and the Civil Service Commission) must actively participate. It is a task which should be undertaken promptly, and I assure you the full cooperation of the Department of Defense.

At my request, the Personnel Policy Board of this Department undertook a study of some of the personnel and labor problems in the Canal Zone. It has presented a series of reports and recommendations on these problems. One of its reports is entitled “Note Accessory to 1936 Treaty.” I consider this report to be a sound presentation on this subject and this letter is based upon the conclusions and recommendations stated in that report. A copy of the report is attached.4

I welcome the opportunity for close coordination with the Department of State in this important matter.5

Sincerely yours,

Louis Johnson
  1. For text, see Foreign Relations, 1949, vol. ii, p. 744.
  2. Not printed, but see footnote 2 to the document cited in the preceding footnote.
  3. For the General Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, together with ancillary notes, see Department of State Treaty Series (TS) No. 945, or 53 Stat, (pt. 3) 1807. For pertinent documents, see Foreign Relations, 1935, vol. iv, pp. 889 ff.
  4. Attachment not printed.
  5. The Departments of State and Defense did not resolve during 1950 their differing interpretations of the mentioned note.

    With a memorandum of June 13, 1950, not printed, to Mr. Bernard Wiesman of the Office of the Legal Adviser, Mr. Mead Smith of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (in the Department of Labor) enclosed an undated “Report of the United States Government on Labor Conditions in the Canal Zone,” not printed. (811F.06/6–1350) The report was prepared for the ILO by a committee which included representatives of the Departments of State, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Labor, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Office of the Panama Canal.