File No. 711.21/299.
Minister Thomson to the Secretary of State.
Bogotá, August 29, 1914.
On assuming office the Concho administration has been confronted with a deficit of $3,000,000 and has found an empty treasury which there is at present but little prospect of replenishing, owing to the effects of the European war and the attendant trade stagnation. * * *
If the treaty can be ratified, with an amendment to pay the indemnity by installments (which I feel would now be accepted although I have received no official intimation in that sense) the effect throughout Colombia would be especially felicitous at this juncture. * * *
It is important for the Legation to know what are the prospects for ratification and whether consideration will be put off until the next session of Congress.
The present session of the Colombian Congress will come to a close next October 20. Congress will not convene again until July, 1915. If therefore, the treaty is to be amended by the Senate, it is most desirable that action be taken now and not postponed until December. * * *