The_Open_Door_deel1

IV
earth in Liberia. It had been through this investment and its
inseparable loan of $ 5 million to the Government of Liberia
that Liberia had been spared further French encroachments upon
its territory as the American company, in addition to its main
plantation in Montserrado County, had started a smaller one in
the eastern part of the country, in Maryland County, close to
the Cavalla River which forms the border with the then French
colony of Ivory Coast, In this way, France could not continue
its colonial expansion which had already reduced the original
size of Maryland County by nearly one half. Tubman, who came
from this county, will no doubt have appreciated and remembered
this.
Secondly, Liberia had benefited indirectly from Firestone's
presence through its role during the Second World War as America's
most important supplier of natural rubber. This had resulted
in the construction of an international airfield near
Harbel, the Firestone Plantation, by the U.S. Army. Originally
meant to speed up the shipment of rubber to the American war
industries, the airfield became a vital link in the transport
of military supplies to the battlefields in North Africa and
the Far East. The Defense Area Agreement concluded in 1942 between
the U.S. and Liberian Governments confirmed Liberia's
strategic importance and resulted in American military personnel
being based in Liberia and in the construction by the U.S.
Army of two roads, one from Monrovia to the international airfield,
Robertsfield, and another from Monrovia to Lake Piso, in
the southwestern part of the country, although work on the latter
was discontinued as soon as Robertsfield was able to handle
all the traffic.
Thirdly, although they were motivated differently, both the U.S.
Navy and* the Liberian Government strongly desired a harbour on
this portion of the West African coast. Insisting upon this matter
during his two meetings with U.S. President Roosevelt in
1943, President Edwin Barclay had obtained the promise that
American funds would finance the construction of a port and for
this purpose an official agreement between the two governments
had been signed on December 31, 1943. William Tubman had followed
these negotiations very closely as President Edwin Barclay
had taken him, as President-elect, with him on his visit to the
U.S.A. in 1943.
This matter of a port had become more important after the discovery
of large quantities of high-grade iron ore by a Dutch
company during the 1930's in an area about 45 miles north of
Monrovia. At that time all loading and unloading of cargo and
of passengers still had to be done by small boats that went to
and from the larger ships anchored a few miles offshore. The outbreak
of the Secnnd World War and the lack of harbour facilities
had prevented commercial exploitation of the ore, one of the purest
iron ores found in the world. During their visit to the U.S.A.
Barclay and Tubman had already explored some possibilities to use
this wealth, and when the latter was inaugurated in 1944, a geological
mission from the U.S.A. was already visiting Liberia.