839.00/2408a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in the Dominican Republic ( Russell )
14. You are instructed to obtain, at once, the widest publicity in the newspapers throughout the Republic of the following, to be issued as an official statement of your Legation:
“The attention of the Government of the United States has been drawn to the evident misunderstanding which exists in the Dominican Republic regarding the provisions of the proposed Convention of Evacuation as outlined in the Proclamation of the Military Governor dated June 14. In order that misunderstanding and misinformation may no longer continue, the following statement is made in order to insure an accurate understanding of the actual meaning and intention of the proposed Convention:
- I.
- In carrying out the provisions of the Proclamation relative to the appointment of certain Dominican citizens as representatives of the Dominican Republic to negotiate the Convention of Evacuation with the representatives of the United States, it is the intention of the Military Government to request the Dominican Congress, as soon as it is elected, to agree upon the names of the representatives of the Dominican Republic. The persons so selected will be formally appointed by the Military Governor in his capacity as Executive ad interim of the Dominican Republic, to be its delegates to negotiate the Convention of Evacuation.
- II.
- The stipulation of the Proclamation of June 14, that the Convention of Evacuation shall provide for the ratification of all of the acts of the Military Government is intended primarily to insure the recognition by the newly constituted Government of the Dominican Republic of the validity of the financial obligations incurred by the Military Government during the period in which it acted on behalf of the Dominican people. These financial obligations were incurred by the Military Government with the consent of the United States in order that funds might be obtained for the carrying out of projects which have promoted the welfare and prosperity of the Dominican people and the Government of the United States feels it necessary to satisfy itself, before its withdrawal from its present relation to Dominican affairs is made effective, that the present holders of these obligations of the Dominican Government may receive satisfactory assurances that the Dominican Government will respect these debts. The validating stipulation should not, however, be construed as conveying the meaning that the Government of the United States insists that every Executive Order issued by the Military Government during [Page 840] its incumbency must continue forever unchanged in the Dominican Code. Its meaning, on the contrary, is that all of the acts of the Military Government shall be ratified initially by the newly constituted Dominican Government. After the withdrawal, the Dominican Republic will necessarily be free to amend or repeal such of those laws or acts as it may deem necessary, provided that the validity and security of outstanding obligations are not impaired.
- III.
- That provision of the proposed Convention which would extend the powers of the General Receiver of Customs to the collection of such portion of the internal revenues of the Republic as may be necessary should the customs revenues at any time be insufficient to meet the requirements of the service of the public debt of the Republic, is, in effect, merely a further guarantee for the proper security of the final loan of $2,500,000. Financial conditions throughout the world are at present on such an unstable basis that it is necessary in order to obtain funds at this time to give additional guarantees to those which were demanded in the past. Should the customs revenues, as is anticipated, prove more than sufficient to meet the service of the public debt of the Republic, this provision will never become operative.”