File No. 811.345/24.
The Acting Secretary of State to the American Minister.
Sir: Referring to previous correspondence [etc.] you are instructed again to take up with the Cuban foreign office the question of the enlargement of the naval station at Guantánamo, emphasizing the feeling of this Government that, for the reasons stated in the inclosed report1 of the joint board and set forth in greater detail in previous correspondence with your legation, the proposed additional area is urgently needed to place the United States in a position to fulfill the stated purpose of the original lease of this station, namely: “to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba and to protect the people thereof as well as for its own defense.”2
In this connection, you will invite attention to the identical provisions of Article VII of the act of Congress approved March 2, 1901, and of Article VII of the Appendix to the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, promulgated on the 20th of May, 1902, that for the above-mentioned purpose “the Cuban Government will sell or lease the lands necessary for coaling or naval stations at certain specified points to be agreed upon with the President of the United States.”
You will also take notice of the recommendation of the joint board, which has been approved by the Secretaries of the Navy and War, regarding the possible relinquishment of the leasehold of the United States to land at Bahía Honda, and if, in your judgment, such [Page 113] proposed relinquishment would tend to overcome the reluctance heretofore expressed by the Cuban Government to consider the question of leasing the additional desired area at Guantánamo, you will bring this phase of the situation to the attention of the foreign office, stating that it is the opinion of the United States Government that the leased area at Bahía Honda is more than equal in value to the desired addition at Guantánamo and, therefore, that this, aside from all other consideration, should prove a sufficient consideration to induce the Cuban Government to yield to the wishes of the United States in this matter.
At the same time, you may say to the foreign office that, in deference to its wishes, as heretofore expressed to you, the Secretary of the Navy has revoked the permit issued to E. P. Pawley & Co. to conduct a mercantile business within the limits of the Guantánamo Reservation, such revocation to become effective within a reasonable time granted for closing out the business. This action has been taken notwithstanding the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy that such permission was not in violation of the provisions of Article III of the lease in question,1 since it was granted solely for the purpose of providing by the most expedient means for supplying the needs of officers, men, and employees of the United States on duty at Guantánamo, and was therefore regarded as within the authority granted by Article V of the lease, to import into the leased area “for exclusive use and consumption therein” free of customs duties or other fees or charges “material of all kinds, merchandise, stores, and munitions of war.”
In conclusion you will impress upon the foreign office the importance which is attached by the United States Government to the desired addition to the Guantánamo station, as in the best interests of both the Governments concerned and express the earnest wish of the Government of the United States that the Cuban Government will look upon the matter in this light.
I am, etc.,