882.01 Foreign Control/753: Telegram
The Chargé in Liberia (Werlich) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received December 28—1:20 a.m.]
100. In continuation of my telegram 99, December 24 [14], 3 p.m., Legislature has recessed until January 3rd. As Barclay said, Legislature has been considering supplementary agreement but apparently this has been to the exclusion of other features of the plan.
As matters now stand it is probable that a Liberian commission will be created by the Legislature to go to the United States during January for [apparent omission] and that no decision will be taken over plan in time for January Council of League session on the excuse of awaiting the results commission’s visit.
A bill for the creation of the commission is receiving attention in the House and Secretary of the Treasury tells me he has been requested by House of Representatives to give consideration to a credit of $8,000 in 1934 budget for commission’s expenses.
Duty of commission would be to solicit financial and moral support from American negroes in order to avoid League plan; to obtain an interview with Firestone, Senior, in order to persuade him to modify loan and Plantations contracts in exchange for promise of loan regularization; to persuade Firestone to have Department receive the commission with a view to our recognition of Barclay.
If the Department so desires I can leave aide-mémoire with President of Liberia on January 3rd (and make it public here immediately afterwards) in which case I would repeat that United States Government considers League plan the only solution for Liberia’s difficulties, adding [Page 966] that the Finance Corporation has informed you that its loan agreement modifications are exclusively in conjunction with the plan, and ending with a statement which you might phrase to the effect that any such commission in the present circumstances would be unwelcome.
Such a statement might possibly stop further legislative action on a commission. On the other hand you may consider it advisable to delay statement until the commission really has been created.
The foregoing has been read to Hines.
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