638.5131/32: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti (Armour)
81. Your No. 115, November 1; No. 118, November 2, and No. 119, November 4. We have discussed the matter with De la Rue and desire you to instruct Pixley to inform the Minister of Finance that (1) any such arrangement if agreed to would unbalance the budget to the extent that customs receipts would be reduced; furthermore such an arrangement would have to apply equally to all gold countries enjoying most-favored-nation treatment. An unbalanced budget would require a corresponding increase in revenues from other sources. (2) It would also seem unwise to make any arrangement in advance of proposed commercial treaty negotiations with France without assurance of an adequate coffee quota. (3) The present law prohibits any such arrangement unless modified by the Legislature.