462.00R296/2630: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Herrick) to the Secretary of State
Paris, January 19, 1929—7
p.m.
[Received January 19—6:19 p.m.]
[Received January 19—6:19 p.m.]
39. Reparation 176.
- 1.
- At meeting this afternoon the Commission appointed, jointly with the German Government, Messrs. Young and Morgan as members [Page 1028] of the Committee of Experts each with power to appoint his alternate. A communiqué to this effect is being issued to the press. Commission and the German Government are cabling direct to the American experts announcement of their appointment.
- 2.
- I do not understand the last paragraph of Department’s 29, January 18, 3 p.m. The communication which the Reparation Commission made to the United States Government (transmitted in my Reparation 175, January 17, 7 p.m.) was for the purpose of submitting names to the United States Government before proceeding to the appointment of American members. The Department in its Reparation 67, January 9, 3 p.m.,6 clearly indicated that it expected this to be done. The cable in question suggested “that names should be finally submitted by the Commission to this Government”. In accordance with this suggestion, procedure was adopted comprising as a final step submission of names by the Commission to the United States Government. Reference to this procedure was made in Reparation telegrams 166, January 10; 169, January 11; 173, January 15; and 174, January 16.7 The fact that the British Ambassador on January 16th apparently submitted the names to the Department on his own initiative and was informed that there was no objection was not known to the Commission. Inasmuch as the Commission before proceeding to the appointment of the American members had requested to be informed (in its communication transmitted in my Reparation 175) whether there was any objection on the part of the United States Government, I replied this morning to the Commission’s letter giving the information contained in the first two paragraphs of the Department’s 29, January 18, 3 p.m. I sent a similar letter to the Kriegslasten Kommission.
- 3.
- Arrangements are now being made for the Experts Committee to hold its first meeting in Paris on February 9th at the Bank of France.
Herrick