882.01 Foreign Control/565: Telegram
The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 29—4:15 p.m.]
145. From Winship. The Liberia Committee met this afternoon and at Cecil’s [request?] I outlined in general terms the position reached before my departure from Monrovia stating that agreement between the Finance Corporation and Liberia concerning loan difficulties had already been reached on a number of points while several remained unsettled. I said that the Liberian Government was anxious before the final adjustment of the loan difficulties to have the benefit of the financial experts of the League and that the Firestone interests now took the same view. I, therefore, suggested that the Committee call upon the Finance Section of the Secretariat for a study of the position with a view to ratifying to the Committee the points already agreed upon and of formulating recommendations with respect to the others.
Grimes stated that his Government particularly desired to have the benefit of Ligthart’s43 advice and practically asked for postponement until June 6 when he would be available. After some discussion it was decided:
- (1)
- That a representative of the Financial Section should meet tomorrow with Grimes, Firestone, Lyle and me to go into the subject;
- (2)
- That the result of these deliberations be submitted to Ligthart for his recommendations;
- (3)
- That the result then be submitted to a second meeting of the Liberian Committee which would be called as soon after June 6 as possible, at London because of Cecil’s inability to return to Geneva and the presence in London of the financial experts.
Cecil asked me whether I felt it would be desirable to have a further meeting of the Committee to discuss the League plan of assistance prior to a final adjustment of the loan contract. I shall inform him tomorrow that I believed the League plan of assistance should not be discussed by the Committee or the Finance Section until the present financial difficulties have been ironed out. My opinion is that an adjustment of the difficulties which concern only Liberia and the Finance Corporation (but whose existence at present constitutes an obstacle to the League plan) should first he obtained. Thus any satisfactory settlement reached would have the advantage of having had League scrutiny and approval (a consideration which should appeal to the Firestones) and of constituting a basis for operation of the loan in case the League plan should not go through. [Winship.]
- Thomas Ligthart, member of the Brunot Mission to Liberia in 1931 and Financial Adviser to the Committee on Liberia.↩