890D.5151/15

The Consul at Beirut ( Gwynn ) to the Secretary of State

No. 504

Sir: I have the honor to report that the Consulate General has recently received a number of requests for assistance in obtaining permission to transfer the proceeds from the liquidation of estates situated in the States of the Levant under French Mandate to persons domiciled in the United States, and that, as no provision for such transfer could be found in the decrees issued recently in Beirut concerning the control of foreign exchange operations,49 a note was sent to the High Commission on February 24, 1940, a copy of which is enclosed, asking that the Consulate General be advised as to whether or not it is now possible for heirs of American nationality to withdraw [Page 937] from Syria and Lebanon the proceeds from the sale of such inheritances. A note under date of March 13, 1940, has now been received, a copy and translation enclosed, stating that “the instructions at present followed concerning the control of foreign exchange do not permit assuring the transfer of the proceeds from the liquidation of successions opened in Syria and Lebanon.”

After the receipt of the note I discussed the matter with M. François Conty, the Chief of the Political Bureau of the French High Commission, and asked him if it might not be possible to reconsider the matter. I told him that it was unlikely that the Department of State could accept without question such a ruling, and said that in all probability the amounts arising from the sale of inheritances transferred from the United States to the States of the Levant were greatly superior to the corresponding amounts transferred from Syria and Lebanon to America. I also told him that I recalled having seen within the last year references in the American press to correspondence between the American and German Governments, and that my impression was that Germany had finally assured the United States that no further difficulty would be put in the way of transferring the proceeds from the liquidation of inheritances in Germany to American citizens domiciled in the United States.50 M. Conty promised to discuss the matter in a conference that the High Commissioner holds every day with his immediate advisers. He telephoned me yesterday to say that M. Ehrhardt, Financial Adviser at the High Commission, had said in one of these meetings that nothing could be done about the matter here in Beirut as the orders which are being followed came from Paris, and that any possible discussions should take place between the American and French Governments. M. Ehrhardt, it appears, stated that, whatever may have been the situation in the past, he did not believe that at the present time heirs in Syria or Lebanon would transfer dollar funds from the United States to the States of the Levant, and that if they did so they would doubtless buy their francs on the unofficial market at New York and that consequently there would be no immediate benefit to France in its efforts to acquire dollars.

Respectfully yours,

William M. Gwynn
[Enclosure 1]

The American Consulate General at Beirut to the French High Commission in Syria and Lebanon

The Consulate General of the United States of America presents its compliments to the French High Commission and has the honor [Page 938] to request that it be advised whether or not, in view of the recently published Arrêtés concerning the control of foreign exchange, it is now possible for the heirs, of American citizenship, to estates of Syrian and Lebanese nationals, situated in the States of the Levant under French Mandate, to withdraw from these States to the United States the proceeds from the sale of these estates.

As the High Commission is doubtless aware, there are many American citizens interested as direct heirs in such estates, the majority of which are of small pecuniary value. Experience has shown that it is usual for the American heirs to liquidate their interests in these estates and to transfer the proceeds to the United States. Should it not be possible for them to do so at the present time, the Consulate General desires to be in a position so to inform them.

[Enclosure 2—Translation]

The French High Commission in Syria and Lebanon to the American Consulate General at Beirut

The High Commission of the French Republic in Syria and Lebanon presents its compliments to the Consulate General of the United States of America at Beirut and, with reference to the note of the Consulate General No. 330/300 under date of February 24 last, has the honor to inform it that the instructions at present followed concerning the control of foreign exchange do not permit assuring the transfer of the proceeds from the liquidation of successions opened in Syria and Lebanon.

(seal) High Commission of the French Republic
in Syria and Lebanon

Diplomatic Bureau
  1. For correspondence on this subject, see pp. 926 ff.
  2. See memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State, December 20, 1938, Foreign Relations, 1938, vol. ii, p. 479.