File No. 437.00/7.
The Secretary of State to the American Minister.
Your dispatch of January 5, 1911, No. 546, and subsequent correspondence. The Government of the United States deems it inexpedient to make any expression upon the precise inquiry of the Government of Cuba as to the Cuban liability, but, actuated equally by its usual solicitude for the best interests of Cuba and in consonance with the dictates of justice, the Department has given the representatives [Page 127] at Washington of France, Germany, and Great Britain, in answer to their definite questions, the following aide memoire, the substance of which will govern the advice you give in response to the questions of the minister for foreign affairs:
aide mémoire for representatives of france, germany, and great britain.
In the matter of the inquiries made as to the attitude of the United States toward a proposition of France, Germany, and Great Britain to arbitrate with Cuba certain claims arising during the insurrection in Cuba, the feeling of the Government of the United States would be to deprecate any undue pressure of “insurrectionary claims” arising prior to 1898, upon the Cuban Government, especially at a time when that Government is confronted with the problem of firmly establishing its economic welfare. The Government of the United States would be compelled, however, to agree in principle to the appropriateness of determining by arbitration the questions involved.