882.01 Foreign Control/573
The Special Commissioner for Liberia (Winship) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received June (16?), 1933.]
Dear Mr. Secretary: We reached Geneva on May 27, followed almost immediately by Mr. Firestone, Jr. and Mr. Lyle, and by Mr. West44 of the Colonization Society, and Dr. Jones45 of the Advisory Committee. As you know, the conversations regarding Liberia were transferred to London a week later, and we have been occupied with an almost constant series of interviews, negotiations and meetings, over which the question of the nationality of the Chief Adviser has remained suspended as a sort of bomb, seen by everyone, and likely to explode at any moment. I was particularly grateful therefore to receive your letter of May 18,46 in which you informed me that, before any change of policy would be decided upon, you wished to have an opportunity to study the situation in detail, and to learn my views.
As soon as financial negotiations have been concluded, and possibly earlier, discussion will begin relative to the League Plan. The nationality question is the most important single point, and the one on which the success or failure of the whole scheme may depend. I had hoped to keep this out of even private discussions with League officials until the appropriate time, but unfortunately West circulated copies of his pamplet, “The Liberian Crisis”, and Firestone several days ago informed a League official that “his interests would not advance money to support any plan unless the Chief Adviser were an American.” The latter part of West’s pamphlet emphasizes too strongly the Firestone side of the question and has laid it subject to the criticism in some quarters that it is Firestone inspired propaganda; while Firestone’s unwise statement into which he was baited, precipitated immediate private discussion.
It was accordingly necessary for me to see Cecil and to discuss the nationality question frankly and at length with him, together with the modifications in the League Plan desired by the Firestones. These modifications are essentially those transmitted with their letter of January 17, 1933,46 including paragraph one, Article One, of Chapter Four, to which the Department took exception in its reply of January 28.47 West and Jones joined Firestone in endorsing this redraft on behalf [Page 916] of their respective organizations, and it was presented to me under a joint covering letter.
I told Cecil that I should personally be very glad to see an American Chief Adviser, on grounds of traditional American interest and sentiment, and the fact that this would draw funds from America for religious, educational and medical purposes that would not otherwise be forthcoming from this source. I spoke of the strong pressure in favor of it from influential groups in the United States. I made it clear that I was speaking without instructions, and stated that I thought that the Chief Adviser should serve within the framework of international cooperation, (that is, be appointed by, responsible to and removable by the League Council.)
Cecil replied by outlining the League position regarding the desirability of a “neutral”, citing reasons with which the Department is already familiar. He said he was not personally opposed to an American, but he made no commitment indicating that should I officially promote an American before the Committee I could either count upon his active support, or that the Committee would accept it. He was not entirely discouraging and, if Liberia requested it, I feel rather sure that, with concessions that we could make on other reserved points, this can be accomplished.
Briggs, Reber and Gilbert predict that the Committee would decline to accept an American, unless perhaps Liberia requested it.…
Grimes invited me to a private conference with him yesterday and incidentally the nationality question came up. I told him that I had heard that he was objecting to an American and was very much surprised as Barclay had assured me on different occasions in my conferences with him that he and all Americo-Liberians considered the United States as their foster parent, to whom they were attached on many scores and would always turn in case of trouble. I further told Grimes that I thought his present attitude hardly reflected the sentiments expressed by Barclay and would probably be construed as a lack of confidence in Americans that could not be understood in the United States.
Grimes of course strongly denied that the Barclay administration was anti-American, or that he was, but claimed that some recent American representatives had been “unfriendly” to the administration. There is a possibility that he may be brought around, and I shall talk with him again on this subject in due course.
I am convinced that there is slight prospect of a change in the attitude of the Firestones, as they regard this point as the sine qua non governing their relations with the League. On the other hand, I know they would be prepared to make substantial concessions to obtain an American. Harvey Firestone Jr. has told me in different conferences that his company was only interested in its Liberian activities as an “American [Page 917] undertaking”, that otherwise they were prepared to discontinue them, and that their attitude was almost wholly based on traditional and sentimental reasons. In other respects than regarding the nationality question, Harvey has been reasonable, conciliatory and generous.
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Unless you object I propose to continue, in private discussions in advance of the meeting of the Committee at which the League Plan will be considered, to explore the possibility of reaching some sort of compromise. But if it becomes apparent that no such solution can be obtained, and that insistence on an American would destroy international cooperation, I recommend that I be authorized to assent to the appointment of a neutral, making at the same time a statement describing our preference and its advantages and explaining that the American Government, which does not consider this point of paramount importance, therefore would decline to accept the responsibility for destroying the League Plan on that.
Sincerely yours,