File No. 812.6363/46.
The British Ambassador to the Secretary of State.
Washington, April 30, 1914.
My Dear Mr. Secretary: In answer to your letter of yesterday about oil wells I hasten to inform you that as soon as I received your telephonic message of the 28th (about 10 p.m.) I sent off a telegram to Sir Lionel Carden in the same sense as your telegram to Mr. Carothers. At the same time I sent a short telegram to the British Vice Consul at El Paso for communication to General Carranza informing him of what I had done.
In my telegram to Sir Lionel Carden I spoke of “an agreement between all contending parties permitting employes to return and operations to be resumed, and continued under protection of guards selected from employes.” I added that “the arrangement referred only to pipe lines and wells and not to the cities, but those in control of cities would be relied on not to molest oil operations or property.” I understood that the latter clause was to be inserted in your telegram, and it is the more necessary as it has lately occurred that the combatants have seized large quantities of goods belonging to British, French and Spanish owners for sale in the United States, as the archives of your Department will show.
I have also telegraphed to the British Admiral and to the British Consul at Tampico. To none of my telegrams have I received any reply.
I am [etc.]