882.01 Foreign Control/399
The President of the Finance Corporation of America (Wm. P. Belden) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 10.]
Sir: Receipt is acknowledged of a letter dated October 5, 1932 with the enclosure of copies of the revised text of the “General Principles of the Plan of Assistance to Liberia” adopted by the International Committee of the League of Nations September 27, 1932 and copy of a communication from Viscount Cecil to the American Representative.78 The Department suggests that this revised text may be susceptible of use as a basis for negotiations between Finance Corporation and Liberia and offers to transmit our reply.
The text of the “General Principles” grants authority to the Chief Adviser to advise and coordinate and to supervise the execution of the Scheme of Assistance, but it does not grant him authority to administer it, nor does it give him any authority over the Provincial Commissioners and their Deputies. Thus he would have responsibility without authority.
The “General Principles” provide that the Chief Adviser shall be appointed by, responsible to and removable by the Council of the League and that the other officials called for by the Plan shall be designated and replaced by the Council, and that any question which may arise from start to finish may be referred for decision by the Council.
The lack of machinery in the League of Nations to administer the affairs of Liberia and a plan of assistance has been recognized by Viscount Cecil, who stated to the House of Lords March 16, 1932—”I should be altogether opposed to any attempt on the part [Page 770] of the League of Nations to administer this country themselves. They have no machinery for doing it and they would only make an awful mess of it.”79
The Plan does not allow the United States of America any part in these matters or in the settlement of any question which may arise from the operation of the Plan, and there is no provision as to the nationality of the Chief Adviser.
The Plan does not take into account the colonization of Liberia by Americans more than a century ago and the long tradition which connects America with the Liberian Republic founded in 1847, and the sacrifices by philanthropic Americans who have assisted the Liberian people through their missionary societies and large sums of money spent each year for the religious instruction and education of the natives of Liberia. The importance of the rubber plantation development and the sums of money used in developing better social and living conditions for the natives and increasing Liberia’s commercial opportunities have been overlooked.
American institutions of learning, Harvard and Yale Universities among others, have financed and directed scientific expeditions to Liberia and have published their reports, covering the fields of tropical medicine and sanitation, forestry, plant and agricultural resources, etc.
Firestone Plantations Company has spent many million dollars in the development of their rubber plantations in Liberia and Finance Corporation of America has advanced over two million dollars, of which more than half was devoted to refunding preexisting Liberian foreign loans and substantially [sic] of the remainder of the payment of Liberian internal debts.
In view of these circumstances it would appear that the exclusion of the American Government from participation in the rehabilitation of Liberia would not be in the interests of Liberia and would be inconsistent with such reasonable assurances as the Finance Corporation may expect.
If the Plan of the League of Nations should be changed to include participation by the American Government in the Plan of Assistance to Liberia, the designation by the President of the United States, and appointment of, an American citizen as Chief Adviser and the assurance to the Chief Adviser of ample and adequate administrative power by Legislative act from the Liberian Government, we would be willing to enter into direct negotiations with the duly authorized representatives of Liberia concerning financial assistance for Liberia.
Very respectfully,