File No. 704.9318/1.
The Secretary of State to Minister Hale.
Washington , September 30, 1914 .
Sir: The Department has received your dispatch No. 34 of September 12, 1914, with enclosures, relating to the request of the Chinese Government that American diplomatic and consular officers, in Costa Rica assume charge of Chinese interests in that country. The Department believes that possibly its instructions to you in its telegram of September 2 may not have been sufficiently explicit and that in consequence your representations to the Costa Rican Minister for Foreign Affairs may not have been so clear as they otherwise would have been and may not have been fully understood by the Ministry. In explanation it is well to say that this Government has not been asked and does not desire in any way to interfere in matters relating to Costa Rican internal affairs and is well aware that Chinese as well as other foreign residents in Costa Rica enjoy all the guaranties which a civilized nation can grant. Occasionally, however, questions of a international character arise which require diplomatic treatment, and since China has no diplomatic or consular representatives in Costa Rica the Chinese Government merely desires the United States representatives to act for China when such questions arise affecting the interests of Chinese legally resident in the country. Diplomatic and consular representatives [Page 178] of the United States have for many years represented China also in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Salvador and it was but natural that the Chinese Republic should ask this Government to perform the same service in Costa Rica. The Department therefore was induced in ordinary courtesy to agree to do so provided Costa Rica would consent.
You will make a full explanation to the Minister for Foreign Affairs so as to remove any misunderstanding upon his part and express the hope that his Government will reconsider its decision and thus enable this Government to respond favorably to the friendly request of China.
I am [etc.]