There are now transmitted herewith for the Department’s information and
such comment as it may deem desirable to make, copies of correspondence
exchanged with Colonel Carvajal’s successor, General
[Page 492]
Uriarte, delegate in Tangier of the
Spanish High Commissioner at Tetuán in the same connection. The
correspondence consists of two letters both dated September 3, 194264 received from
General Uriarte which reveal his misapprehension as to the situation
explained to his predecessor, and the Legation’s restatement of that
position as embodied in its reply dated September 15, 1942 to the
aforementioned communications.
[Enclosure—Extract]
The American Chargé at Tangier (Childs) to General Jenaro
Uriarte, Delegate in Tangier of the Spanish High
Commissioner for Morocco
Tangier, September 15,
1942.
Dear General Uriarte and Distinguished
Friend: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your two
letters dated September 3, 1942 in which you refer to charges made
by the local Price Controller against the American protégés … of the
alleged sale of toilet soap at abusive prices, and of the holding of
clandestine stocks of green tea.
In response to your appeal for my contribution in the prevention of
profiteering at the expense of the community in the present period
of scarcity, I need hardly assure you, dear General and
distinguished friend, that you may count upon the fullest
cooperation possible on the part of the Legation where American ressortissants may be concerned. However, I
should add that the Legation’s efforts to secure the practical
attainment of the purpose in view could not involve resort to
measures, or the adoption of any form of procedure prejudicial to
the American treaty position.
The Legation has no authority to waive or to compel American ressortissants to waive the exercise of their
existing treaty rights in Morocco, such for instance as their right
to conduct their businesses in complete liberty without interference
of any kind on the part of the Moroccan authorities. Consequently,
American ressortissants cannot be legally
coerced, either by administrative action on the part of the Legation
or by judicial action of the American Consular Court, into making
declarations of stocks held by them, or into selling their goods at
arbitrarily fixed prices. In these circumstances it is obviously
beyond the power of the Legation to give its sanction to the
imposition of fines, such as those suggested by the Price Controller
on … for their failure to comply with regulations which they cannot
be judicially constrained to observe. That is the legal position
and, as the Shereefian Government has been informed by the Legation,
[Page 493]
the Department of
State is unable to give its formal approval to any departure
therefrom.
This situation was explained to Colonel Carvajal on the occasion of
his visit to me on October 23, 1941 when he informed me of the
appointment of a Price Controller in Tangier, referred to a revival
by decree of October 21, 1941 of a law dated November 2, 1939 passed
by the Tangier Legislative Assembly which imposed restrictions and
control over trading in the Tangier Zone, and asked me to apply
these measures to American nationals and protégés. In accordance
with the position above set forth, I informed him that although
these measures, in as much as they were derogatory of the principles
of the Moroccan treaties, could not be legally enforced upon
American ressortissants, the Department had
directed the Legation to examine with the Moroccan authorities
arrangements designed to avoid special difficulties prejudicial to
the interests of the local communities which might result from the
failure of the American Government to give its formal approval to
legislation enacted in Morocco as a result of the present
exceptional circumstances.
Colonel Carvajal was informed that the Legation would be glad to
extend to the Spanish authorities such a regime of cooperation,
subject of course to the Department’s stipulations that the
contemplated arrangements did not prejudice the American treaty
position or the legitimate activities and interests of American ressortissants in Morocco. Colonel Carvajal
expressed his satisfaction and added that the Spanish authorities
understood the extraterritorial situation of the United States in
Morocco and had every intention of respecting it. I replied that I
considered that American ressortissants, as
members of the Tangier community, should cooperate to the fullest
possible extent in the welfare of that community and that, moreover,
I did not anticipate any difficulty in persuading them voluntarily
to do so.
Indeed, in view of the foregoing explanations as to the
constitutional limitations on the action of the Legation in the
premises, it will be appreciated that the only possible basis for
the cooperation of the Legation with the Spanish authorities lies in
the use of its persuasion to induce American ressortissants voluntarily to accommodate their methods of
trading with those implied in the local regulations to which you
allude in this connection. The Legation is confident that it will be
able to persuade American nationals and protected persons, in these
exceptional times, to observe their moral obligations in this
respect toward the community of which they are members, and it will
spare no efforts, in its administrative capacity, to prevail upon
them faithfully to carry out such voluntary undertaking once it is
given. As an example I would point to the full measure of
cooperation which has been encountered by the local authorities on
the part of American oil companies.
[Page 494]
However, any inference on the part of the authorities that the
Legation should depart from the above basis of operation, such as
the expectation that it should impose administrative fines on
American ressortissants, could only tend to
render its task more difficult.
The Legation’s cooperation with the authorities, and particularly
with the Price Controller, can repose only on an informal, though
very friendly and sympathetic basis. I endeavored to make this clear
to Colonel Carvajal when, in my reply dated January 29, 1942 to his
request of January 26, 1942 that the American protégé, Mr. David S.
Bergel, attend upon the Price Controller, I informed him that such
attendance had been ordered by the Legation without prejudice to
American treaty rights and would be limited to the purpose of giving
information.
Subject to these conditions the Legation will be pleased to continue
its cooperation with the Price Controller. It will examine with
equal objectiveness how far the profits of American ressortissant traders can be rationally
limited and in what measure such limitation is compatible with the
sale prices fixed and with other conditions imposed by the
authorities on trade, without jeopardy to the maintenance by
American ressortissants of the continued
existence of their businesses.
On this basis, my dear General and distinguished friend, I feel sure
that our joint efforts in the interests of the community should
prove to be successful.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
With kind personal regards,
Sincerely yours,
