File No. 811.34537/49.
The American Minister to
the Secretary of State.
[Extract.]
American Legation,
Habana
,
February 11,
1911
.
No. 623.]
Sir: Referring to previous correspondence in
regard to the enlargement of our naval station at Guantánamo, I have the
honor to transmit herewith a copy and translation of a confidential note
dated the 8th instant which I received from Sr. Sanguily, the Cuban
secretary of state, last night.
I have [etc.],
[Inclosure.]
The Cuban Secretary of
State to the American
Minister.
[Translation—Extract.]
Department of State,
Habana
,
February 8,
1911
.
No. 13.]
Mr. Minister:1 * * *
Some time ago the press of the United States attributed to the
minister of war of that Republic, Mr. Dickinson, the statement that
the costs of the second intervention, represented to amount to
$6,000,000, constitute a debt of Cuba. This statement, probably
apocryphal, has occasioned appreciable uneasiness here, being
considered as the announcement of a pecuniary claim which the Cuban
treasury could not meet without serious disturbance of its
equilibrium. In spite of its apparent incorrectness, not having been
denied by the Government of the United States this statement
continues to be a source of uneasiness, and it seems but right to
the Cuban Government that it should be disclaimed by an authentic
pronouncement, especially since, really and positively, an
obligation of that nature could not be conceived of as legitimately
binding on the Cuban people when that people had not been consulted
and so made responsible for it. * * *
