821.51/2509
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Livingston L. Satterthwaite of the Division of the American Republics
Mr. Cotton7 called to say that Mr. Traphagen had informed him that he had been trying to get in touch with Mr. Duggan for the last two or three days, but had been unsuccessful. Traphagen said that he had put the plan for the debt settlement up to the Executive Council and that they had authorized him to go ahead on that basis. Traphagen then telephoned to Turbay and asked him whether he could go to New York to discuss the debt settlement. Turbay told Traphagen that he could not do so this week but probably would be able to in the near future. Traphagen felt that Turbay was not quite as enthusiastic as he had been formerly. Traphagen said he was leaving May 29 for two weeks and in view of the time urgency wanted the Department to find out from Turbay what his intentions are with regard to the debt settlement. Traphagen said that he could come to Washington this [Page 702] weekend but would prefer not to unless some useful purpose would be served, as he was very busy.
I told Mr. Cotton, and he agreed, that it might be a mistake for a representative of this Government to enter the negotiations between Traphagen and Turbay at this stage and that an approach to Turbay, unless handled in a very casual manner, would constitute our premature entry into the negotiations. I told Mr. Cotton that I would inform Mr. Duggan of this conversation and would let him know whether it was decided to speak to Turbay about the debt settlement.
[On May 10, 1940, the Export-Import Bank announced that a credit in the sum of $10,000,000 had been granted to the Government of Colombia.]
- Joseph P. Cotton, Jr., Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury.↩