710.1012 Washington/82
The Minister in Costa Rica ( Davis ), Temporarily in Washington, to the Secretary of State
Sir: Referring to the Department’s instruction No. 447, dated April 14, 1928,8 with reference to the forthcoming conference of conciliation and arbitration provided for in a resolution adopted at the Sixth International Conference of American States, I have the honor to report as follows:
While in San José, en route from the Guatemalan-Honduran Boundary Conference9 to Washington, I conferred briefly with the Costa Rican Minister for Foreign Affairs relative to the conciliation and arbitration conference. He stated that Costa Rica would be pleased to cooperate at the conference and that he is under the impression that Costa Rica will give favorable consideration to conciliation and arbitration proposals, provided these proposals stipulate that questions previously submitted to arbitration cannot be made the subject of [Page 640] arbitration under any general treaty of arbitration that may be drawn up at the conference.
This reservation was made because of the fact that the Costa Rican-Panaman boundary controversy which was submitted to arbitration by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and decided in favor of Costa Rica has not been accepted by Panama.10 The Costa Rican Government will not sign an arbitration convention which will offer Panama an opportunity to again open the question.
I mentioned the “Gondra Treaty” to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and stated that I was under the impression that it contained a clause which will satisfy the Costa Rican Government on the point raised by him.
On account of the fact that I departed immediately for the United States, I did not have an opportunity to follow up my conversation but will do so immediately upon my return to San José.
I have [etc.]