File No. 22372/4A.
The Secretary of State to Consul Moffat.
Washington, November 21, 1909.
Mr. Knox says in considering demanding satisfaction from Zelaya for the killing of Groce and Cannon that the department would like from Mr. Moffat full information which will confirm or upset the understanding that Groce and Cannon were regularly participating in the revolutionary movement and were acting in the line of their duty as part of the forces and not as independent individuals. Mr. Knox says that Castillo states that Groce was colonel of engineers and that Cannon was his second in command. Instructs Mr. Moffat to verify from the highest revolutionary sources the exact facts of their status and telegraph them to the department. Says the matter is urgent.