File No. 817.00/2382.
The Secretary of State to Minister Hale.
Washington, January 14, 1915.
The Costa Rican Minister has just been here. It seems that his Government feels aggrieved, first, because they construe the emphatic [Page 266] request of our December 18 as a demand, and, second, because it was presented to the President instead of to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. I have given the Minister a paraphrase of my telegram to you of December 24 [29], and have also given him a memorandum of which the following is a copy:
The Secretary of State, in communicating the above paraphrase to the Minister from Costa Rica, assured him that no offense was intended in the form in which the previous communication was presented. While the American Minister was asked to “approach the President” with the matter, there was no intention of slighting the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Secretary expressed himself as certain that the Minister to Costa Rica, in carrying out the letter of the request, had no thought of ignoring or giving offense to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He feels sure that this explanation will remove any feeling that has been aroused, in view of the desire of both countries to preserve the good will and amity that have so long existed between them. Communications between the Governments ought to be of the most intimate and friendly character and it is the intention of this Government that they shall be. The Secretary expressed regret that there should have been any misunderstanding in regard to the present case or that anything should have been said or done which could in any way cause irritation.
The Minister seems perfectly satisfied with this explanation. It might be well for you to call upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs and explain to him in the sense of this memorandum that in asking you to approach the President we did not mean that you should ignore the Secretary but that you had followed the telegram literally without any intention of slighting him or giving offense. The matter is probably cleared up before this by the communication of our answer of December 24 but I tell you of my conversation with the Minister here so that you may be fully informed as to the facts in the case. Please remove any false impression that may have been made by the language of the original despatch.