838.154/9–2644
The Ambassador in Haiti (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honor to report that the work of the United States Public Roads Administration has been formally terminated in Haiti. Mr. Frank H. Gardner, Resident Engineer, has provided this Embassy with a copy of his letter of September 15, 1944, to the Secretary of State for Public Works, in which he states that the Public Roads Administration cannot approve any additional work on the Morne-à-Cabrit road.
The termination of this work occasioned some unwarranted comment in Le Nouvelliste of September 19. This paper said that the few Haitians employed by the Public Roads Administration became unemployed automatically, that Haiti did not have time to benefit to any extent from the project, and that the idea of Pan American roads was to unite the American Republics.
This comment fails to stress, perhaps deliberately, the essential fact about the closing of the office of the Public Roads Administration in [Page 208] Haiti. The office was opened, not to assist the Haitians, but to construct roads which would permit transport of goods to Puerto Rico, with a maximum of freedom from submarine attack, thus assisting in the prosecution of the war. When the submarine menace virtually disappeared, there was no further need for an alternative to an all sea route to Puerto Rico, and consequently, the Public Roads Administration closed its doors in Haiti.
Respectfully yours,