File No. 822.124/332.
Historical summary prepared in the Division of Latin-American Affairs of the Department of State.
brief history.
Previous to 1906 General Alfaro, then President of Ecuador, wrote to Mr. Magoon, then Governor of the Canal Zone, concerning the [Page 513] sanitary needs of the port of Guayaquil. The President of Ecuador saw the advisability and the necessity of securing the cooperation of foreign sanitary experts if the port of Guayaquil was to be rid of the bubonic plague and yellow fever then prevalent.
As a result of several conferences at the Department of State between Secretary Root and the Ecuadorean Minister at Washington, it was decided that the Government of the United States would send the Governor of the Canal Zone and the chief sanitary officer of the Canal Zone, upon invitation of the Government of Ecuador, to confer with the authorities of the municipality of Guayaquil. However, the appearance of opposition in the Province of Guayas and the city of Guayaquil to American assistance of this kind made it advisable to postpone it for the moment.
During the latter part of 1906 and the first months of 1907 a conference was held on the Isthmus between the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Panama, the Ecuadorean Minister at Washington, American Minister Squires, and Colonel Gorgas, out of which grew a draft sanitary convention between Ecuador and Panama the real purpose of which appears in a clause in which Panama agrees to supply Ecuador with one of her sanitary officers to inaugurate a hygienic system similar to that established at Panama.
In spite of strenuous endeavors and for reasons which it is not necessary here to enumerate, and although the interest of this Government in the matter had not relaxed, for a period no practical opportunity presented itself to proceed in the direction pointed out by the policies of the Government of the United States.
In 1908 the President of Ecuador asked that the necessary authorization be given to enable Dr. Lloyd, then stationed at Guayaquil in the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, to assist in the struggle against the unhealthy conditions of Guayaquil. Dr. Lloyd in consequence rendered most valuable service during the short period he enjoyed a certain administrative authority at Guayaquil, but, owing to primitive local conditions and consequent lack of sympathy and cooperation, particularly of the Guayaquil medical profession, he found it necessary to give up the task; however, not without having framed a very comprehensive and effective body of sanitary regulations on the basis of this experience.
Since the fall of 1909 the direction of the sanitary service of Guayaquil has been under an Eucadorean sanitary board which has not measured up to the task confronting it, as both yellow fever and bubonic plague continued to prevail in Guayaquil with undiminished force.
The importance which the War Department ascribed to this matter and which placed strongly before this Department the close relations thereof to the canal enterprise appears in correspondence. Two communications from the Secretary of War dated October 5, 1909, and April 6, 1910, respectively, contain expressions in this sense. The following is quoted from the former communication:
Guayaquil is in direct and constant communication with Panama, and it is at present one of the very few ports in the world where yellow fever still lingers. The failure to eradicate this disease and plague is a constant menace to the Canal Zone, where the occurrence of either of these diseases would greatly complicate the work and increase its expense.
In the second letter referred to, the Secretary of War informed this Department that–
according to communications received and on file in this Department, the port of Guayaquil is in direct and constant communication with Panama, distant two days by water, and is at present one of the very few points in the world where yellow fever and bubonic plague still linger. The failure to eradicate these diseases is a constant menace to health conditions on the Canal Zone, where the occurrence of either would greatly complicate the work and increase its expense. * * * Against such conditions the remedy of a quarantine is costly, unsatisfactory, and inefficient; the only effective safeguard is to sanitate the focus of the disease.
The Secretary also suggested that recourse must be had to diplomatic channels to discover—
some plan whereby a system of sanitation as thorough as that on the Canal Zone and at Habana may be put into operation at the port of Guayaquil.
And further statement is made that—
until some such remedy is adopted the health of residents on the Canal Zone and, indeed, of the inhabitants of the seaboards of America will be constantly menaced by this center of infection.
During the summer of 1910 it was reported that Ecuador was desirous of parting with the possession of the Galapagos Islands and that a transfer of them to a non-American power was being discussed. As a consequence thereof, the Department found it necessary to inform Ecuador that this Government was prepared to consider an offer from Ecuador regarding these islands which should include the employment of a portion of the purchase price in the permanent proper sanitation of Guayaquil.
Soon after these negotiations had accomplished their purpose in the removal of immediate danger of this archipelago’s passing to a non-American power, a French citizen, personally and through influential Ecuadorean representation, entered into an understanding with the Quito Government looking to the construction of certain municipal works which, it was alleged, were essential to the effectual sanitation of Guayaquil. From many sources reports reached the Department that this project, the so-called Coignet contract, would not only fail to accomplish sanitation but, in hypothecating the Ecuadorean revenues available for this purpose to provide for the excessively large loan thereunder, would almost exclude hope of real, permanent betterment in the future. In the light of these facts, and in harmony with the policy which had been consistently pursued with respect to the cleansing of the port of Guayaquil, occasion was availed of to impress upon the Ecuadorean Government the great concern of this Government in the condition of Guayaquil and the necessity of promptly finding some effective system to cure the evil.
In view of the fact that the world’s great works of sanitation had been the result of governmental effort or supervision, and because of the practical lack of native experts, this Department took repeated occasion in communications with Ecuador to lay emphasis upon the necessity of foreign assistance and of a preliminary technical examination of the local situation. The Government of Ecuador was opportunely informed that the Government of the United States would be glad to lend its expert assistance so that any contract which might be subsequently entered into to do the work at Guayaquil would effectuate real and permanent sanitation.
[Page 515]The above-mentioned option obtained by M. Goignet regarding municipal improvements at Guayaquil expired on the 30th of last-June.
Before and subsequent to the election of General Plaza, the present Chief Executive of Ecuador, this Government was formally and earnestly approached for aid in the matter of sanitation. The various proposals of the Ecuadorean Government looked to the carrying through of the work required, either directly by or under the supervision of United States officials.
The Ecuadorean Government has therefore become convinced, in consonance with the purpose which the course taken by the Department above indicated seemed to obey, that the proper sanitation of Guayaquil is of great mutual interest and that the United States is prepared to help Ecuador to formulate an adequate plan to obtain this end of common benefit.
During the year 1912 the Legation of the United States at Quito was frequently approached by appropriate officials of the Ecuadorean Government on the subject of the sanitation of Guayaquil. The Ecuadorean Government expressed the desire to enter into a convention that might enable the United States, through its sanitary officials, to take charge for several years of the administration at the port of Guayaquil pertaining to sanitation, and to place at the disposal of such officials funds which it was believed would be sufficient to support such an administration. It was not proposed, at the time the idea of a convention was broached in the month of February, 1912, by the Ecuadorean Government to include the execution of any work of construction, such as a water-supply system, sewerage, or the paving of the city, but had reference solely to the extinction of yellow fever and bubonic plague through the administration and police action of American officials placed temporarily in charge of local health department.1
A cursory study of the purpose of the Ecuadorean Government during the early months of 1912 brought conviction that insufficient guaranties of a practical nature, such as those assuring permanency to a work with which the name of the United States would in this manner necessarily be connected, militated strongly against its serious consideration by this Government, and made its preliminary examination and recommendation by responsible sanitary experts a prerequisite to the determination of measures that would effectually meet the real needs of the situation.
It appeared that the solution of the sanitary problem of Guayaquil lay not merely in the enforcement of police sanitary regulations, however carefully prepared, but in a provision for an abundant water supply, the installation of sewerage and drainage systems, and possibly the general reform of building construction.
Reports had also reached the Department, as previously stated, that the contract which a French citizen, Coignet, was desirous of entering into with the Government of Ecuador was absolutely inadequate to accomplish sanitation, although the contract provided for an outlay of from eight to ten millions of dollars. It became more and more apparent that the Government should be placed in possession of data resulting from complete preliminary surveys, the [Page 516] preparation of tentative plans, and specifications showing what means would be accurately adapted to the end it was desired to attain.
The discussion between the Legation and the Ecuadorean Foreign Office regarding the sanitation of the port proceeded along general lines until the month of May, 1912, when the Ecuadorean Government presented a memorandum stating the views of that Government with reference to the sanitation of Guayaquil. A copy of the translation of this memorandum, dated May 6, 1912, is attached hereto1 merely in the way of information.
With reference to this memorandum the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ecuador in the month of July, 1912, expressed a desire that the complete work needed to bring about the sanitation of Guayaquil and its suburbs should be undertaken by the Government of the United States “without the intervention of any companies, contractors, or private speculators whatsoever.” This Government was then invited to enter into a convention with the Government of Ecuador in accordance with the memorandum of May 6, to be submitted for approval to the following Ecuadorean Congress.2
In connection with this the Department of State found it necessary to instruct the Legation to point out the difficulties of the performance of the sanitary work by this Government and to emphasize the importance of awaiting the result of a preliminary examination of the infected region, which would supply accurate technical information then entirely lacking and which would make possible intelligent conversation with the Ecuadorean Government on the subject of a possible arrangement, under which expert assistance of the United States might be made effective in carrying out the actual work of sanitation of Guayaquil and the region in which it lies.
Accordingly, in the latter part of 1912 the Ecuadorean Government deposited $8,000 to the order of the American Legation in Quito for the payment of the expenses of a sanitary commission under the direction of Colonel Gorgas, which was to study and report upon the feasibility of the sanitation of the port of Guayaquil.3 The commission arrived in Guayaquil in December, 1912,4 and made a complete study of local conditions. It reported that no insuperable obstacles existed to the sanitation of this port and indicated what methods should be followed in order to carry it into effect. This included an expenditure of some ten million dollars for certain essentially necessary public improvements such as water supply, sewerage, and paving.
Only about one-half of the money available was expended by the commission and $4,000 were returned to the Ecuadorean Government.
Division of Latin American Affairs,
Washington , September 27, 1913 .