856d.6363/45: Telegram

The Minister in the Netherlands (Phillips) to the Secretary of State

30. Your March 8 [9], 5 p.m. In reply to my inquiry two weeks ago of the Minister of the Colonies whether in his opinion American capital would in fact be able to participate in the Djambi concession, the Minister promised to communicate with Mr. Colijn and advise me of the reply. The Minister has just transmitted this reply to me without comment. The substance of it is as follows:

“Mr. Sinclair evidently thought that by participating he would obtain right of possession of the produce, viz, liquid fuel. I informed him immediately that this right does not apply to shareholders of the B shares but to the board of directors of which the majority are persons selected by the Government. Moreover, I drew to his attention the fact that the combination of the raw oil which eventually would be obtained from the Djambi fields is of such a nature that very probably not a single litre of liquid fuel would be sold, inasmuch as most likely all the liquid obtained will have to be used in the concern itself. It seemed to me that this information very much decreased Mr. Sinclair’s interest in Djambi, but from a subsequent interview with Mr. van der Woude it appears that in spite of this Mr. Sinclair would still like to participate in the B capital. I then informed Mr. van der Woude that it would be utterly impossible for me at this time to express any opinion as to whether we would be willing to grant him part of the B shares. We shall be able to give a definite answer to this question only when the bill12 has become law.”

Please advise Van der Woude, now in New York, care of Sinclair, of this message.

Phillips
  1. See telegram no. 281, Nov. 23, 1920, from the Minister in the Netherlands, Foreign Relations, 1920, vol. iii, p. 288.