882.01 Foreign Control/682: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul at Geneva (Gilbert)
106. For General Winship. Your 24877 and 250, October 13. Firestone has just telephoned that they are sending a message to Hines tonight authorizing him to give their endorsement to the Plan in accordance with your suggestion and furthermore to indicate their willingness to accept a figure of $325,000 for the operating expenses of the Government, the increase to be devoted specifically to education.
The Firestones have furthermore agreed not to refer to the question of the nationality of the Chief Adviser in their message of endorsement. They are, however, still concerned about the phrasing of the report on this question. While they have undertaken to waive their insistence on an American, they do not feel that the Liberian Government should be automatically estopped from asking for the appointment of an American in case it should later change its views and decide to ask for one. They are also still somewhat uneasy about the possibility of the selection of a Dutch national. Would it be possible so to phrase the report as to meet these preoccupations, without in the second instance mentioning the Dutch by name?
The Firestones are further telegraphing Hines asking for explanations on certain changes made in the Plan, the import of which is not entirely clear to them, notably those appearing under Article 2; Article 3, Paragraph 3 (where they question whether the reference-Article VIII should not rather be to Article XII, Paragraph 3 as amended); Article 6; and Article 19, Paragraph 3.
- Not printed.↩