The_Open_Door_deel1

CHAPTER 4
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FOUR ATTEMPTS TO CULTIVATE OTHER CASH CROPS:
COFFEE, COCOA, BANANAS, AND PALM PRODUCTS
THE LIBERIA COMPANY
Edward R. Stettinius, who in 1944 had been U.S. Secretary of
State and also a former lend-lease 'Administrator (from 1941 to
1943), had become very familiar with Liberia, notably during the
discussions for the construction by the U.S. Government of a port
at this portion of the West Africa coast. He had developed great
interest in, and sympathy for, this country which from 1936 till
1941 had been the only independent state in the whole of Africa.
Shortly after President William Tubman took office in 1944 a start
was made with a series of conferences between the Liberian
Government and the Stettinius Associates-Liberia, Inc., a company
which Stettinius had founded. Meanwhile it had become clear that
the Five Year Development Plan (1946-1950) which the Tubman
Administration had launched could not be implemented because of
lack of funds, shortage of manpower, and insufficiency of data
relevant to development planning (See also Chapter 10),
On September 3, 1947 the negotiations with Stettinius resulted in
the signing of a Statement of Understanding whereby a company was
created under Liberian Law, The Liberia Company, whose overall
objective was "the development of the human and material recources
of the Republic of Liberia" (1), The Liberian Government and the
Stettinius Associates-Liberia, Inc. were jointly to participate
in the new company
"in a cooperative effort to bring to bear the advantages
and benefits of private resources in capital and specialized
knowledge from the United States and the natural resources
of Liberia with a view to improving the levels of
the living of the people of LiLeria and to enhance and
expand their opportunities for economic and social advancement,"
(2)
The same idea had been mooted already in 1944 by President William
Tubman, in his Inaugural Address, when he had introduced what was
to become known as his "Open Door Policy" (See also Chapter 2).
When the Liberia Company was founded plans were also published
for the creation of a Liberian Educational Foundation for the
"advancement of the higher educational opportunities of
the people of Liberia, including bringing the best qualified
candidates to the United States for Education, with
particular emphasis on medical and technological training,
and the training and the assistance in the creation of the
University of Liberia." (3)
The Statement of Understanding mentioned the following projects to
be inaugurated on or before December 31, 1950: