File No. 818.00/280
The Secretary of State to Minister Price
Washington, December 29, 1917—6 p.m.
Your December 26, 5 p.m. Instruct censor to withhold transmission Volio’s cables. You may inform Volio that the Government of United States will not countenance armed activities such as he contemplates, inasmuch as this Government feels that only by moral force can a constitutional and duly legalized Government be set up in Costa Rica.
You may inform Government of Panama that Government of United States cannot countenance any armed activities against Government of Nicaragua or the people of Costa Rica, and wishes to emphasize the responsibility which of course the Government of Panama recognizes rests upon that Government to prevent armed forces from leaving territory of Panama for the purpose of operating in either of the neighboring Republics. Please communicate contents of this telegram to United States military authorities, and request their cooperation in watching movements of Volio and his followers and in preventing them from undertaking armed expedition contemplated by them.