Office of the Historian

The Acting Secretary of State to Minister Combs.

[Telegram.]
Department of State,
Washington, December 24, 1910.

Act on and repeat for action to the American legation at Quito the following:

So soon as you are advised that your Argentine and Brazilian colleagues have been similarly instructed you will communicate the following textually to the minister for foreign affairs:

The tripartite mediation, offered under the provisions of The Hague convention intended to provide honorable avoidance of pending war, having thus far successfully accomplished its high purpose and by the precise terms of the mediation the Governments of the United States of America, the United States of Brazil, and the Argentine Republic now finding themselves placed at the disposition of the Governments of Ecuador and Peru to facilitate, by their good offices and wisest counsel in the exercise of the high advisory function of mediators, the settlement of the boundary question, and impressed with the difficulty and importance of that question, believe that they can now render as mediators no more valuable service to the Governments directly interested than to advise them to refer the whole question to The Hague court of arbitration created for the final settlement of just such disputes under the same convention by virtue of another provision of which the action of mediators has proved so efficacious.

For your confidential information the department has reason to believe that this suggestion will be acceptable to Peru, and that Chile will insist on its acceptance by Ecuador. The minister for foreign affairs of Brazil predicts that Ecuador will at once propose that Colombia be admitted as a party to the proceeding, in which case he suggests that the mediators, dissenting from the proposal, recommend in lieu thereof the subsequent submission to The Hague by Peru and Colombia of their boundary contentions, all differences in this respect between Colombia and Ecuador being now settled by treaty. Should such prove to be the case you will act in concert with your Argentine and Brazilian colleagues.

Wilson.