817.00/2814
The Vice Consul in Chargé at Bluefields (Waters) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 16.]
Sir: I have the honor to report to the Department that during the week ending August 27, 1921, the political situation on this Coast was very unsettled, and there were rumors current regarding revolutionary activities and an invasion from both Honduras and Costa Rica. The town was put under martial law, the latter part of the week. On August 27th, 1921, the three leading Liberal newspapers were suppressed.
On August 29, I called upon the Governor of the Atlantic coast and requested, if it were possible, that he give me definite information regarding the situation, and asked if there was any truth in the rumors current. He informed me that they were expecting an invasion from Honduras, but regarding Costa Rica, there was no truth in the rumor. I then asked, if in the event of any serious trouble, he was in a position to protect the American interests here, to which he gave me to understand that as regards the interests in Bluefields he thought he was perfectly able to cope with the situation, but was not in a position to protect the interests along the coast, and feared most, the depredations of mobs in the event of an uprising. I then asked him if he would suggest that I send for an American Warship to protect the American interests here, and he requested that I allow him to communicate with the President before doing anything. The next day he and his Secretary called at the Consulate stating that he had received an answer from the President who officially approved that an American warship be sent here to protect American Interests and avoid trouble which he anticipated, on the strength of which I wired the Department under date of August 31, 1921, 9 a.m.
Trusting my action in this matter will meet with the Department’s approval.
I have [etc.]