The_Open_Door_deel1

-40-
years. The $ 5 million Loan was placed at a rate of 90%. It could
be said that with the arrival of Firestone in Liberia this country
had (finally) become a U.S. Protectorate - not under the
political umbrella of the U.S. Government but under the financial
umbrella of a private U.S. company.
The Opening'of the Door: The repeal of the Ports of Entry Law .
The 1926 Plantation Agreement with the Firestone Tire and Rubber
Company gave the U.S. rubber company virtually unlimited rights
over an area of 1 million acres for a period of 99 years. The
accompanying Loan Agreement resulted in a complete dependency of
the Liberian Government on an American Financial Advisor to the
Liberian President. The Advisor, appointed by the U.S.
Government, had to approve the Liberian budget, every year, and
the Liberian Government could not borrow any money without his
consent. President King was severely criticized by his opponents
for this concession agreement. They claimed that the agreement
was a violation of the alien land law clause of the Constitution
(because of its long term), that it restricted the powers of the
National Legislature (because of the tax exemptions which were
granted), and that it ousted the jurisdiction of the Liberian
Courts (because of the arbitration clause) (133)• Indeed, one of
the country's oldest disputes, whether or not to make use of
foreign capital in the development of the country, was re-vived
again as a result of the Firestone Concession Agreement. Also
during the 1927 Presidential Elections the "Open Door Issue"
played an important role, the presidential candidate of the
People's Party (an opposition party), Thomas J.R. Faulkner,
favouring the establishment of an "Open Door Policy" (134),
President King, who won the elections which were characterized
by an unprecedented electoral fraud (135), the following year
in England and in continental Europe declared that this country
now had an Open Door Policy (136). His ideas were not
uncontested. Notably the exclusive character of the Concession
Agreement signed with Firestone was incompatible with the
classical idea of an Open Door Policy.
The defeated Presidential candidate, Faulkner, accused the King
Administration of permitting slavery, slave trade and forced
labour within the borders of the Republic. A Committee of the
League of Nations was established and examined the accusations.
The Committee was composed of Dr. Cuthbert Christy, an
Englishman, Prof. Charles S.A. Johnson, a black American, and a
former Liberian President, Arthur Barclay.
In 1930 President King and Vice-President Yancy resigned because
of their involvement in the "Slavery Scandal" which became
publicly exposed after the report of the Committee. A third
high-ranking Liberian, Postmaster-General and former
Superintendent of Sinoe County (137), Samuel A. Ross, had died
in January of the same year (138).