File No. 816.00/160.

The American Minister to Guatemala to the Secretary of State .

[Extract.]
No. 208.]

Sir: In continuation of my despatch No. 206, of the 16th instant, and with reference to your telegram of January 16, 4 p.m., which reached me the following morning, I have the honor to inform you that I immediately communicated the substance of the first paragraph of the latter to the Salvadoran Chargé d’Affaires, who had already received similar advices from his Government; and subsequently to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

With respect to the second paragraph of your above-mentioned telegram, I decided, after consultation with the military attaché, that it would be better that the latter should not go over the Salvador frontier. The considerations which led me to this view were that, whatever the previous conditions may have been, it was evident from President Estrada Cabrera’s memorandum, which accompanied my despatch No. 197, of the 2d instant, that he considered all traces of military preparations, if any had existed, could be removed before the inspection could take place, and that if the military attaché of this Legation confirmed the absence of military preparations this would be merely playing into the hands of the President of Guatemala.

After the receipt of the President’s memorandum, referred to above, I consulted with the military attaché as to the possible results of an inspection of the frontier, and was informed by Major Clark that if serious military preparations had been made it would be impossible to conceal the fact from a trained observer. This, however, would not apply to the mere presence of the barefooted soldiery of the country, whose needs are almost nil, although there would be a possibility of gathering some information from residents as to their presence or absence in unusually great numbers.

I have [etc.]

R. S. Reynolds Hitt.