Office of the Historian

File No. 714.1515/43

Minister Leavell to the Secretary of State

[Telegram—Extract]
American Legation,
Guatemala, December 16, 1917, 10 a.m.

Your December 14 [13], 6 p.m. and my confidential despatch of 12 November last No. 431. My interview with the President of Guatemala yesterday afternoon which continued for more than hour and a half and resulted in the following: [Page 790]

1.
President Cabrera says that he did not disturb the status quo in the disputed territory but that it was done by the Honduran Government backing up the Cuyamel Fruit Company in its aggressions on land conceded by Guatemala to other companies a long time ago, which aggressions he had stopped by the presence of a few soldiers.
2.
That he could not agree to make the Motagua River a provisional boundary line pending the adjustment of the dispute because that would be putting into the power of Honduras about all she claims and would be distinctly understood to be a definite disadvantage to Guatemala and that however good the intention was, the very fact that such a provisional boundary line had been agreed upon would by necessity work to the prejudice of Guatemala and to the advantage of Honduras.
3.
That a fairer provisional boundary line pending the adjustment of the dispute would be the crest of the Merendén mountain range because the claims of Guatemala reach a considerable distance beyond that range, but he would not ask for that.
4.
In order to prevent any possible suspicion of his readiness to agree to any reasonable provisional arrangement he would make the proposal that the disputed territory lying between the Merendén mountains and the Motagua River be made neutral provisionally for a while, that both Guatemala and Honduras withdraw from that territory all their troops, thus preventing any probability of a collision, and that each of the two Governments retain there two commissioners to keep them advised of any violation of the agreement by either of them. He added that in order not to give advantage to any one the Cuyamel Company should be required not to extend their railroad any further in the disputed territory pending further adjustment of the dispute.

Leavell