711.2212Anti-War/2
The Minister in Ecuador (Bading) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 6.]
Sir: With reference to Legation’s despatch No. 1145 of August 30, 1928,60 in which the Department was informed of the delivery to the Minister of Foreign Relations, on August 28th, of the formal note announcing the signing on August 27th, in Paris, of the Multilateral Treaty to Renounce War by the interested powers.
I have the honor to report that the Legation received on August 31st the answer from the Ecuadoran Government signed by Homero Viteri Lafronte, Minister of Foreign Relations (copy and translation hereto attached).61
[Page 192]It will be noted that the Minister of Foreign Relations merely acknowledges receipt of the Legation’s note without in any way committing himself as to the possible attitude the Ecuadoran Government will assume in the matter.
As both the Minister of Foreign Relations as well as President Ayora, with whom the American Minister had the opportunity of discussing the treaty in an informal manner, expressed themselves as greatly interested and in terms laudatory of the treaty, it is to be presumed that Ecuador will sooner or later also become an adherent of the treaty, awaiting merely the action which other Latin American countries will take.
Of interest, however, in this connection is an editorial which appeared in “El Telégrafo” of Guayaquil, the leading newspaper of Ecuador.
The writer of the editorial apparently has not analyzed the treaty very carefully but is mainly interested in the fact that Latin American countries did not participate in the preliminary discussion and in the signing of the treaty.
He interprets this as due to a desire of preventing the treaty from being influenced by the “Latin American tendency to make the Great Powers respect its rights” and calls it “a grotesque imposition, incompatible with the dignity and equality of the nations.”
The writer then makes reference to the Peruvian-Ecuadoran boundary difficulties and points out the desirability of obtaining from the United States Government the promise to interpose its good offices for the pacific solution of that controversy and finally advocates that Ecuador adhere to the treaty “ad referendum”, subject to the approval of the Legislative Power.
The editorial is as follows:
[Here follows translation of the editorial.]
I have [etc.]