File No. 422.11G93/740.
The American Arbitrator to the Secretary of State.
[Telegram.]
Lima
,
February 13, 1914
.
Organization proceeded no further than taking the oath. Negotiated for nearly three weeks in effort to reach satisfactory rules of procedure, I conceding every possible point that was not vital. Points of difference were:
- 1.
- Insisted that proceedings be conducted both in Spanish and English; Ecuador insisted that they be conducted in Spanish alone, and only one original record be kept.
- 2.
- I insisted that two secretaries be appointed, one by each Arbitrator, I naming Steer. They insisted that only one secretary could be appointed and that under Ecuadorian law he must be an Ecuadorian official; they further insisted that the secretary of the Ecuadorian court was by their arbitration law secretary of the arbitration tribunal until we selected some other Ecuadorian official as secretary. They also insisted that this one secretary should be sole custodian of all the papers and records of the tribunal, I contending for joint custody by the two secretaries named by us respectively.
- 3.
- They contended that arbitral tribunal could determine only such matters as parties saw fit to submit, while I insisted that parties should submit every matter in controversy up to date.
- 4.
- I contended that a definite time be fixed in advance in which evidence could be introduced, providing for extension of time if found necessary. They refused absolutely to fix any time.
- 5.
- They finally took the position that arbitral tribunal should adopt no rules whatever, as the matter was entirely controlled by Ecuadorian law of arbitration. This being a distinct violation of agreement made in Washington,5 I of course refused to agree.
These vital differences necessarily made the arbitration impossible, and I formally notified Ecuadorian Arbitrator that I would notify the President of our disagreement.
Miller
.- For. Rel. 1913, pp. 502–504; also pp. 495–498.↩