File No. 861.51/451
The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Rathbone) to the Acting Secretary of State
Dear Mr. Polk: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th instant addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury, confirming the opinion which you expressed at yesterday’s conference, namely: that in the judgment of the Department of State the political considerations involved were so important as to make it inadvisable to prevent the payment of interest on the bonds of the Russian Government held by the public and which mature on the 10th of this month. While from a strictly Treasury point of view the Secretary of the Treasury would feel obliged to object to the payment of this interest, he appreciates the importance of the political considerations which you have urged as controlling and will accordingly make no objection to payment of the interest above mentioned. I may add that this Department concurs in your view as to the importance of these political considerations.
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