Mr. Finch to Mr. Hay.
Montevideo, Uruguay, February 18, 1902.
Sir: Yesterday afternoon, at the request of Capt. Thomas Perry, U. S. Navy, commander of the U. S. S. Iowa, now lying in this port, I introduced him to President Cuestas. Captain Perry was accompanied by several officers from the Iowa, who were also introduced to the President.
The reception accorded Captain Perry and his officers by President Cuestas was cordial. The stay was short, but the President was very frank in his expressions of preference for the United States. He spoke of the pleasure it had given him when he learned of the personal attention shown his son, Minister Juan Cuestas, by Secretary of State Hay and President McKinley, on the minister’s arrival in Washington. He regretted, he said, his inability to satisfactorily express his gratitude for their treatment of Uruguay’s representative.
He said also he had frequently wept over the assassination of President McKinley, whom he held in the highest esteem.
Respectfully,