817.00/5378: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Nicaragua (Eberhardt)
[Paraphrase]
Washington, February 5,
1928—6 p.m.
38. Your telegram No. 70, February 7, 11 a.m. It is the feeling of the Department that any such statement as the one proposed requires careful consideration. The Department, therefore, makes the following observations in that connection.
- (1)
- The passage of the new electoral law is the immediate problem before us. We feel that while you are impressed by the strength and persistency of the opposition, you still entertain the hope of its passage. In this situation care must be taken to do nothing which might in any way diminish the chances of success in obtaining a proper law. We should like to feel satisfied that you, General McCoy, and Mr. Munro are wholly convinced that a statement of the kind set forth in your message would improve the prospects for the passage of the law, instead of perhaps having the contrary effect. It will be decidedly helpful to have your joint views on this subject by telegraph.
- (2)
- You should consider the contingency that a statement of this nature, which cannot be framed without carrying an implied threat, might play into Chamorro’s hands and help him to defeat the law. Chamorro may well be seeking an excuse for stating that if the United States intends to force its type of supervision, law or no law, the Congress of Nicaragua would be recording its own impotence by enacting this legislation. In other words, Chamorro might make the most of the point that we are now dictating to the Congress instead of resting upon the promises made at Tipitapa and incorporated in the agreement between President Coolidge and President Diaz. It appears that what you propose, if done now, would be merely anticipating a step which we may have to take in case the electoral law is finally defeated, and that the issuance of such a [Page 467] statement now would carry risks which need not be faced at the present moment.
- (3)
- Pending the receipt of your opinion on the above suggested questions and the decision thereon, it is clear that you should continue the effort to have the law put through along the lines already laid down.
Olds