868.51 Refugee Settlement Commission/119
The French Chargé (Laboulaye) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary of State: By a note dated March 3148 last Your Excellency was so good as to inform this Embassy that although the distribution of first aid by the American Red Cross and the Near East Relief to the evacuated people of Asia Minor was to come to an early end, those organizations would nevertheless be ready to carry on their charitable work, even after the set term, provided a positive plan be established to enable them to cooperate in similar undertakings with other nations in their search for final solutions of the questions relative to the employment or quartering of those refugees.
As Your Excellency knows, the Council of the League of Nations passed at Geneva at its session of July 5 last the following resolution relative to the contemplated Greek loan for the refugees:
“The Council of the League of Nations has asked its experts to examine the question of the Greek loan for the refugees and look into a program of measures for the settlement of those refugees.
“The securities offered by the Greek Government appear to be such as to be available as a basis for the flotation of a loan, the proceeds of which would be applied to settling the refugees and assuring for them remunerative work. The supervision of those [Page 364] securities might be facilitated through the extension of an international commission which has been in operation since 1898.
“If the Greek Government should succeed in floating a loan for that purpose, the Council, after ascertaining the terms of the said loan, is ready to extend its assistance in organizing the management of the funds yielded by the loan, so that the lenders may be assured that the funds will be used in accordance with the program.”
The Council further decided to appoint a limited committee consisting of:
- Doctor Nansen, High Commissioner for Refugees;
- A representative of the American relief organizations;
- A representative of the Hellenic Government.
This committee would have charge of inquiring what measures could be taken by the Greek Government in order to assure for the refugees temporary relief pending the availability of the first resources yielded by the contemplated loan.
I venture to hope that the measures contemplated by the Council of the League of Nations will meet the conditions placed upon the cooperation of the American relief organizations according to Your Excellency’s above-mentioned note. If this should be the case, I should be thankful to you if you would kindly intervene with the associations under consideration, so that they will continue to distribute relief to the refugees, a large number of whom are in Syria at present, and that they send instructions to that effect to their representative who, with Doctor Nansen, the High Commissioner for the refugees, and a representative of the Hellenic Government, is to form the special committee which the Council of the League of Nations has decided to create.
Be pleased [etc.]