837.51/1443
The Ambassador in Cuba (Guggenheim) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 13.]
Sir: In reference to the Department’s telegram No. 72, June 26, 2 PM, I have the honor to report that in a conference with President Machado on Tuesday, July 7, he apologized for not having made, up to the present time, any formal acknowledgment of my note to him of June 27, 1931. Doctor Ricardo Herrera, Secretary of the Presidency, however, made a tentative reply, a copy and translation of which are enclosed.81
The President stated to me that he wished to repeat informally that there would be no bond issue. He said that he was appreciative of the continuous study I had been making of Cuban finances, and that he had respect for my judgment and was very happy to accept my personal advice on this subject, which he knew was in the interests of Cuba. However, he felt that perhaps a formal acknowledgment of my note might have to take into consideration the rights of the Cuban Government. He did not think that my Government could object to the issue of an internal loan or that it ought to object every time the Cuban Government “wanted to borrow $15,000.”
I told the President that my Government had a different view of this; that Article II of the Permanent Treaty was specific and that internal obligations were not excluded from this provision of the Treaty; that my Government felt it had an obligation in the matter and, on this account, it fulfilled its duty in sending the note of June 27, which concretely stated my Government’s viewpoint. President Machado accepted all this in good part, and the conversation turned to other subjects.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩