839.00/2566: Telegram
The Commissioner in the Dominican Republic (Welles) to the Secretary of State
8. My number 6, August 9, 3 p.m., and Department’s August 11, 5 p.m. In a conference which I held this morning with the members of the Dominican Commission the following amendments to the plan as signed in Washington were unanimously agreed to, subject to the sanction of the Department of State.
- 1.
- Substitution for last sentence of article 1 the following: “At the same time the Military Government will announce that the Provisional Government will assume from the date of its installation administrative powers to carry out freely the aforesaid purposes and the said Provisional Government from that date will alone be responsible for its acts”. (This amendment was probably agreed upon in order that the Military Government may not in the future have to assume any legal responsibility for any action taken particularly in [Page 44] connection with the expenditure of public funds by the Provisional Government).
- 2.
- Substitution for first sentence of article 2 of the following: “The selection of a Provisional President and Cabinet by majority vote of the members of a Commission composed of General Horacio Vasquez, Don Federico Velasquez, Don Elias Brache, Don Francisco Peynado and of Monseigneur Doctor Adolfo Nouel upon the inclusion of whom the four above named representatives have agreed”.
- 3.
- Addition at the end of fifth sentence of article 2 of following phrase “whenever such assistance may be requested”.
- 4.
- Inclusion at the end of article 4 of the following phrase “and the public functionaries whose election is prescribed in the laws regulating the organization of the provinces and communes.”
- 5.
- Substitution for the word “evacuation” appearing in the first sentence of article 7 which is apparently an error copying, of word “ratification”.
- 6.
- Substitution throughout the draft convention of the term “administrative regulation” in place of the second [term?] “departmental order”. (The former term is the technical term which has been used by the Military Government).
- 7.
- Substitution in the third sentence of article [?] the draft convention for the word “promulgation” of the word “publication” (Under Dominican law, laws of the Republic do not enter into effect until the date of their publication Official Gazette.)
- 8.
- Insertion before the words “the Dominican Republic” at the conclusion of article 9 of the phrase “the territory of”. All of these amendments acceptable as making the provisions of the plan more precise, the phraseology in two instances more pleasing to the Dominican people and in the first instance as defining clearly the responsibility of the Provisional Government. If I may be advised by cable that no objection is seen by the Department to these amendments the plan will then be considered in final form.
I discussed with the members of the Commission this morning the various matters referred to in the next to the last paragraph of my cable of August 9, 3 p.m. I found a very marked disposition on the part of all of the members to accept these requirements which I stated would form the subject of an agreement of the nature suggested in the paragraph of my cable above mentioned. I will have a definite reply from them regarding these requirements on August 14.
- Telegram in two sections.↩