837.51/830: Telegram
The Representative on Special Mission in Cuba (Crowder) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received 10:27 p.m.]
58. When the Lower House met yesterday afternoon the loan statute project was read, whereupon Ferrara46 offered a substitute project of 51 articles and house adjourned for 48 hours for consideration of substitute. Purpose of Ferrara project is to avoid a public loan and pay off obligations with certificates of indebtedness running for two years at 6 percent to be paid out of the proceeds of the following new taxes and economies: first, 1 percent gross sales tax; second, special tax of 25 percent upon lottery tickets; third, reduction of army by 2500 officers and men; fourth, reduction of representation expenses of each Congressman and Senator by $200 per month.
Cursory examination of Spanish text of Ferrara project shows failure to make explicit provision for payment of either temporary Morgan loan of $5,000,000 or $3,000,000 arrears of the interior debt and failure adequately to protect holders of certificates against [Page 1039] speculators, also failure to make any adequate provision for the greatly neglected services of public roads, education and sanitation.
Unless instructed to the contrary I shall assume that it is the view of the Department that the issue of these interest-bearing certificates is the creation of a public debt requiring the sanction of the United States Government under article 2 of the peace [permanent] treaty.
Am translating Ferrara project and will report later. In the meantime if the Department has any comment to make upon the plan of settling by certificate of indebtedness rather than by a public loan, I would be pleased to be advised.
- Representative Orestes Ferrara.↩