File No. 812.00/1808.
The
White House,
Washington, May 12,
1911.
I have sent a copy of this letter to the Attorney General and the
Secretary of War.
[Inclosure.]
The
White House,
Washington, May 12,
1911.
Sir: After a conference with the Secretary
of State and the Attorney General, I have reached a conclusion as to
your duty in permitting merchandise, and especially arms and
munitions of war, to pass through the customhouse
[Page 483]
at El Paso, Tex., into the adjoining
town of Juarez, in the Mexican Province of Chihuahua. The forces of
the insurrection against the existing Mexican Government have taken
Juarez and are now in possession. This does not alter or affect the
duty of the Government to allow merchandise of all kinds in usual
course of commerce to pass through its customhouse for delivery upon
the other side of the border into Juarez. There is no rule of
international law that forbids. The rule of international law and
our so-called neutrality statutes do not seem to differ in this
regard. The insurrectos can hot be permitted to use El Paso as a
base of operations from which to equip and arm their forces. In
other words, they may not establish a depot and maintain storehouses
in El Paso and, from time to time, withdraw from there the supplies
they need, whether this be food or munitions of war. But
international law favors the continuance of commercial transactions
and holds them innocent in a neutral country until those
transactions become really a part of a military operation against a
friendly government. The mere sale, however, of supplies in El Paso
to Mexicans, whether insurrectos or supporters of the Government,
and their delivery across the border, without more, is not a
violation of international law or of the neutrality statute.
It will be truly said that the possession of a town like Juarez by
the insurrectos, therefore, gives them a great advantage in that by
purchase across the border they can make a depot of supplies in
Juarez obtained by purchase from Americans in El Paso or other
places in the United States. This may be, but it grows out of the
weakness or the misfortune of the Mexican Government, for which we
are not responsible, and it does not change our duty or the right of
persons in our jurisdiction to carry on legitimate business.
Unless, therefore, the guns and ammunition are presented to you under
circumstances showing that their transportation is within the
inhibition of the law, as above stated, you will allow them to pass
as the subject of legitimate commerce.
Sincerely, yours,
