File No. 882.00/570
The British Embassy to the Department of State
The British Embassy have the honour to communicate the following information with regard to affairs in Liberia, in case it should be of interest to the Department of State.
The selection by the President of Liberia of Mr. Walter F. Walker as Secretary of the Treasury has been badly received by the Liberian public, and a public meeting of protest was held at Monrovia, as a result of which the chairman of the meeting, ex-President Arthur Barclay, handed an official protest to the President, who declined to receive it.
The action of the President in the matter is reported to have been very badly received, and it is represented as possible that a serious Government crisis may be developed, resulting perhaps in the removal of Mr. Howard from the Presidency. Should this occur, ex-President Barclay, who is probably now the most popular man in Liberia, seems the most likely candidate for the head of any Government which might be formed.
Washington , November 8, 1917.