File No. 835.73/72
The Vice President of the Central & South American Telegraph Co. ( John L. Merrill) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I respectfully ask that you will refer to the Department’s letter of October 3, 1916,1 and previous correspondence and, particularly, to the paraphrase of a telegram which the Department was good enough to send to the American Embassy at Buenos Aires, on September 28, 1916, reading …2
For your convenience, I quote below a translation of a concession granted to the Central & South American Telegraph Co. by the Argentine Government in 1885. This concession, you will note, was granted absolutely without limitation as to time. The concession, translated, reads …3
Please note that while our concession from the Argentine Republic, dated June 22, 1885, is very brief, it contains a reference to the national telegraph law of October 7, 1875, which law embraces a full statement of the regulations under which the business of our company in the Republic of Argentina, over the proposed cables, will be carried on. This law, among other things, gives the Executive the power to permit the landing of ocean cables.
Acting upon the suggestion of the American Ambassador to Argentina, the company made formal application to the Argentine Government for landing site in Argentina on March 8, 1917. The following is a translation of such application:
To the Director General of Telegraphs, Buenos Aires:
The difficulties offered in the Republic of Brazil to the laying of the cable authorized by decree of July 22, 1885, which this company has been able to overcome since that time by the use of all its efforts with persistent application, as it has had opportunity to express to you, have happily just terminated with the final decision given lately by the supreme tribunal of Brazil, which removes the obstacles raised against the realization of an enterprise that is indispensable to progress. The world situation created by the European war prevents, for the time being, the laying of the cables, the securing of materials, and the assurance of transportation thereof, but in any event it is convenient [Page 40] to conclude at once some preliminary details so as to be in a position to commence the work when circumstances permit after peace is made.
The most important of these details is the one referring to the point at which the cable should land in this Republic, the point which the company thinks is difficult to fix on the Rio de la Plata, although it has considered the possibility of erecting it in the vicinity of Quilmes Beach, or near Atalaya.
Desiring to commence immediately the studies required for that end and before the company makes the corresponding final election, I would be grateful to the Director General if he would be willing to indicate to me if the landing places mentioned or any of them conflict with laws or dispositions of the Argentine Government or offer difficulties in any other way.
I salute the Director General with my most distinguished consideration [etc.]
Henry Hussey
Up to this date, we have received no definite reply from the Argentine Government, although we have been assured several times that the application was being carefully considered.
As you know, after succeeding in our case before the Supreme Court of Brazil, the Brazilian Government on October 27, 1917, executed a formal contract with this company for laying two submarine cables from Brazil to the Argentine Republic, viz.:
- (1)
- From Rio de Janeiro direct to the Argentine Republic;
- (2)
- From Santos (Brazil) direct to the Argentine Republic.
A copy of this contract is on file in the Department of State and another copy is hereto annexed, translated by the Department.1
The only possible objection to favorable action on the application would be the existence of a concession granted in 1909 to the Western Telegraph Co. (British), which concession contains certain preferential rights. Our claim has been that our 1885 concession antedates the Western Telegraph Co.’s 1909 concession and, consequently, the latter cannot conflict with our rights in any way. The validity of this contention has been supported by the Department of State.
In view of the fact that no answer has been given by the Argentine Government to our application of March 8, 1917 (more than one year ago), and in view of the fact that our company now holds (since October 27, 1917) a contract from Brazil for this greatly needed cable, and, in view further of the enormous interests at stake, both on the part of the United States Government and of the citizens of the United States, of a commercial nature, we respectfully request that urgent instructions be sent at the earliest possible moment by the Honorable Secretary of State to the proper diplomatic representative in the Argentine Republic, to obtain a speedy reply to our request of March 8, 1917, in order that a landing place for our said cables on the coast of the Argentine Republic may be fixed.
I purpose going to Washington next Friday, March 29, and should be glad to call upon you in regard to this matter late Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, or, if inconvenient to see me at that time, I shall be glad to come to Washington at any other time you may determine.
With our sincere appreciation of your support of our endeavor to extend our American-owned and American-controlled cables from Argentina to Brazil, I am [etc.]