462.00R296/4924: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in France (Marriner)
400. We wish you to bring before the French Government the following observations upon the note transmitted in your No. 505 of August 12. These are to be put in such form as you judge best and are in addition to the considerations set forth in our No. 399 of August 12 to you.
- (1)
- The French Government is inconsistent in drawing a distinction between the annuity paid by Germany to the United States and the payments by the United States to nationals of Germany. Both sets of payments are used directly to recompense private individuals. It should be kept in mind that payments from Germany go into a fund created at the Treasury under the “Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928” known as The German Special Deposit Account. This fund is derived in part from appropriations by the United States Congress, and out of it payments are made, following a series of priorities established in the Act, to both German and American nationals. The German payments, in other words, are one of the sources from which German claims are compensated.
- (2)
- It would not be practicable for this Government to recommend to the Congress that payments be continued to German nationals while payments to American nationals were discontinued. The French Government must recognize this.
- (3)
- The United States is not a signatory of the Young Plan and consequently the fact that the annuity which the German Government pays is taken into account under the Young Plan does not affect the validity of the proceeding.
- (4)
- The conclusion that this Government’s suggestion that payments under the German-American Claims Agreement constitutes a “special advantage” to the United States seems a strained and unwarranted construction of the exchange of letters of January 20, 1930. The net balance [Page 287] of payments, as has been repeatedly pointed out, will be greatly in favor of German nationals. This is also applicable to the observation of the French Government that our proposal appears to be contrary to the recent Franco-American agreement.
If a long exchange of argument and counter-argument over this matter should be necessary, it would be indeed unfortunate. The evident facts of our suggestion should rule. These facts are that all other interested Governments have accepted the proposal, that it would mean assistance to German industry when it is badly needed, that the Government of the United States would be unable to continue the payments on German claims unless the German payments are continued, and finally, the very important fact that continued opposition of the French in this connection, though founded on conviction, would not accord with that spirit of cooperation of which the international action taken to forward the President’s proposal has given such encouraging proof to the world.
It is agreeable that Livesey go to Paris. Reference your No. 506.14
- Not printed.↩