611.5231/236a: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Spain ( Moore )

[Paraphrase]

43. Legation’s 67, July 11, 5 p.m.

1. Have given due consideration to views of yourself and Hackworth. Department desires to avail itself of Spanish offer to proceed immediately to the consideration of a strictly commercial treaty to supplement the treaty of 1902, with the assurance of a modus vivendi to operate until the proposed supplementary treaty is actually in force.

2. Department deems it desirable to confirm oral assurances of the Minister of State. You will therefore address him a note substantially as follows:20

“I did not fail to inform my Government of the offer which Your Excellency was so good as to put forward at the time of our conversation on the 11th instant to proceed at once to the consideration of an exclusively commercial treaty with the United States with the assurance that if the treaty is not successfully completed before November 5th next, an appropriate modus vivendi will be offered the United States. I have now received the reply of my Government and have been instructed and have the honor to inform Your Excellency that the Government of the United States appreciates the friendly and courteous attitude of Your Excellency’s Government in the matter and accepts the proposal of Your Excellency’s Government with the understanding that the existing commercial relationship between the two countries, established on the most-favored-nation basis, shall continue in force until such new commercial arrangements as embodied in the treaty shall become actually operative between the two countries.

“Consequently, I hold myself in readiness to present, at such time as may be convenient to Your Excellency, the views of my Government respecting the provisions that may be appropriately incorporated in the commercial treaty in accordance with Your Excellency’s proposal.”

3. The commercial articles in the draft are the following: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 29. You are instructed to obtain the equivalents of the stipulations contained in article 7 (draft) through general provisions and lists of articles. However, the list given by us [Page 862] should stipulate most-favored-nation treatment and not set forth rates. Commercial convention should likewise embrace articles 8, 28, and probably articles 14, 15, and 16. There is so little difference between articles 9, 10, and 11 of the draft and articles 7, 11, and 9 of the treaty of 1902 that the Department believes it unnecessary to have them included in supplementary commercial treaty.

The above paragraph is intended to inform you in a general way of Department’s attitude in case the Minister of State should make a satisfactory response. Continue to keep Department informed in order that complete instructions may be sent to you.

Hughes
  1. Text of note not paraphrased.