817.24/1

The Nicaraguan Minister (Chamorro) to the Secretary of State

[Translation]

Excellency: I have been informed that it lies with Your Excellency to furnish my Government with the armament it asked for. It is as follows: ten thousand rifles with six million rounds of ammunition, instead of the five thousand previously asked for; fifty machine guns with a million rounds of ammunition instead of the twenty five previously asked for, two military airplanes with all the needed accessories. As for the payment, taking into account the financial conditions now prevailing, I take the liberty of proposing to Your Excellency the mode of payment of the amount due might be as follows: the first payment to be made within three years, the second one year thereafter and the final payment five years from the date of the agreement.

I beg your Excellency to be so good when you address the War Department on the subject to inform me as to the quality and price of the said armament. I should also wish that in the handling of the matter you impress upon the War Department the necessity under which the Government of Nicaragua is placed and its desire of bringing the transaction to the earliest possible conclusion. I take the liberty of remarking that on the seventeenth day of this month the SS Ecuador will sail from Baltimore to Corinto, directly, and that the Government of Nicaragua would attach value to having the armament shipped on that steamer.

With the highest consideration, I am [etc.]

Emiliano Chamorro