The_Open_Door_deel1

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In December 1923 the first mission arrived in Liberia, and after
further examination of the soil and the environment the negotiations
between Firestone and the Government of Liberia, led by
President Charles King, started in early June 1924. Firestone
originally proposed to lease the abandoned Mount Barclay rubber
plantation for a one year soil experiment. During this period a
rental of one dollar per acre was to be paid for the use of this
area of 2,000 acres (5), with an option for renewal for 99 years.
In case the results of this experiment proved favourable, he proposed
to lease one million acres for a period of 99 years while
paying a rental of 5 cents per acre during the first six years,
on the condition that the Liberian Government would give reasonable
cooperation in securing sufficient labour for the efficient
operation of the plantation. He further offered to construct a
port near Monrovia at a maximum cost of $300,000 which amount
was to be repaid by the Liberian Government at a rate of six percent
interest. In his reply President King stated that the yearly
rental for the Mount Barclay plantation should be $ 15,000 instead
of the I 2,000 offered, that the concession area was to be
not larger than 500,000 acres on which a rental was to be paid of
6 cents per acre per annum, and that a 5% rubber tax, which would
go into effect after a period of 15 years, should be levied on
the produce of the plantation. These conditions, however, were
not acceptable to Harvey Firestone and he rejected them.
In the second half of June of the same year a tentative compromise
was reached fixing the rent for the Mount Barclay plantation
after the first year at $ 6,000 a year, A rubber export tax
of 2| percent was a-greed upon whereas the rent for a one million
acre concession area was determined at 5 cents per acre
annually for the first six years. After this agreement had been
reached Firestone took over the Mount Barclay Plantation.
On January 13, 1925 the three draft agreements were discussed by
the National Legislature (the Mount Barclay Lease, the Lease of'
one million acres, and the Harbour Agreement). When the approval
of the Legislature had been obtained, and Firestone submitted the
final Agreements for approval he had inserted a clause (the famous
"Clause K"). This clause stated that the one million acre
lease would be dependent on the condition that the Liberian Government
would take a $5 million loan from him, on the eame conditions
as the $5 million loan which President Daniel Howard had
obtained from the U.S. Government in 1918 but which had been rejected
by the Congress of the U.S.A. in 1922 and which had aroused
many objections in Liberia as it would have turned this country
into an American administrated territory with only nominal
political independence (6).
Firestone's proposal aroused widespread protests, both inside and
outside the country (7). The internal opposition against this $ 5
million loan was led by the Secretary of the Treasury, Jeremiah J.
Harris, and the Attorney-General of the Republic, Louis Arthur
Grimes. The former denied the need for a new loan in his Annual
Report for the Fiscal Year 1925:
"It would be well to mention that during this period the
revenue has shown a steady increase and well deserves to
be styled the "Recording Breaking Period" in the financial
history of the. Country. That for the first time has