837.51/584: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Cuba ( Cable )
152. For General Crowder.
Your 112, September 11, 7 p.m.
On August 27th the Department indicated to the Gelabert Commission that because of the urgent economies that must be practiced as a means of restoring public credit of Cuba, and in consideration of the fact that the Cuban Government is now facing a national deficit of at least $36,000,000, and is contemplating a further increase of its public debt by an exterior loan of $50,000,000, while the ordinary revenues, as estimated by the Cuban Government, remain at approximately $72,000,000, the Department felt that the expenditures of the Cuban Government should not exceed $55,000,000, and should preferably be limited to $50,000,000. It was further indicated that in order that the Government of the United States might give helpful cooperation to the Cuban Government in planning a further reduction in its expenditures from the $64,000,000 budget now projected, to the $50,000,000 to $55,000,000 budget, which figure, in the opinion of the Department, expenditures of the Cuban Government for the current fiscal year should not exceed, the Cuban Government should provide the Government of the United States with a statement setting forth the detailed expenditures in the $64,000,000 projected budget, and that without this detailed statement it was impossible for the Department of State to make any concrete suggestions for reduction. As a constructive suggestion it was stated that the expenditures of the executive departments of Cuba might be reduced by 33⅓ percent in each instance without [Page 732] in any way prejudicing the orderly running of such governmental departments.
The Gelabert Commission has not given the Department any indication that the Cuban Government is not to forward this detailed budgetary statement, and the Department’s recommendations as outlined above therefore remain unmodified. Until the Department reaches a decision on the important questions raised in your telegram of September 11 and your despatch of September 7, this Government believes that you should continue your efforts to have the Cuban Government accede to the proposal to reduce its budget or else to show definitely that a budget of $64,000,000 is necessary for it to function in an orderly manner, this budget to be forwarded to the Department by the Cuban Government either through you or the Gelabert Commission.56
- This last paragraph paraphrased.↩