819.6341P19/33
The Chargé in Panama (Muse) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 17.]
Sir: With reference to the Department’s telegram No. 36 of June 4, 4 P.M., I have the honor to enclose a copy of the note which I presented to the Secretary of Foreign Relations on June 6th,21 in compliance with the Department’s instructions, concerning the radio concession granted to the Panama Corporation, Limited, and the control by the United States of radiotelegraphy in Panama, my action having been delayed a day by the necessity of obtaining service corrections of portions of the Department’s message.
Señor Arosemena read my note and was disposed to enter at once upon a discussion of the matter. … he observed that this was one more unjustifiable imposition of a great power upon a weak and helpless state, and that Panama was being deprived of the benefits of modern science and civilization. He added that as long as women and children were allowed in the Canal Zone there could be no war menace sufficiently grave to justify the control by the United States of radiotelegraphy in Panama; that he had himself been informed in the past by high American naval authorities that the control of radiotelegraphy in Panama was not necessary to the defence of the Canal; and that the control by the United States of radiotelegraphy at points in the interior of the Republic was no more necessary than the control of radiotelegraphy in Colombia. At the same time he declared that Panama would never be unfaithful to her agreements and that there would be no change in the status of radiotelegraphy in the Republic without previous agreement with the United States. He explained that he had personally objected to the inclusion of the radio concession in the contract with the Panama Corporation, Limited.
He asserted, however, with some vehemence that the only honorable course for Panama to pursue would be to abolish radiotelegraphy entirely in the Republic. Panama would rather do without radiotelegraphy, he said, than ask the consent of the United States before permitting the establishment of radio stations. He would personally make a fight to have radiotelegraphy forbidden in the Republic. Panama would begin by revoking the radio concession granted to the Panama Corporation, Limited.
[Page 732]I interrupted at this point to inquire whether I might inform my Government that this radio concession would be revoked. To this Señor Arosemena replied that, while he could not give me this definite assurance now, he would recommend to the President that the radio concession be revoked. I pointed out, nevertheless, that my Government did not seek to prohibit radiotelegraphy in Panama, but that it only proposed to exercise the control which had been granted to it by Panama and which the military and naval authorities had found necessary for the protection of the Canal and, consequently, of the Republic itself. I asked if he found that this control as now exercised by the United States presented any serious obstacle to the development of radiotelegraphy in Panama from a practical point of view, and he agreed that it did not.
The Secretary of Foreign Relations, finally … informed me that the question of radio telegraphy would be taken up at the next Cabinet Council and that a formal reply would be made to my note at an early date. I discussed at this point the formation of the Aviation Board in the sense indicated in my despatch No. 2047 of this date.22
The conversation ended on a very friendly note. Señor Arosemena referred briefly to the three recent difficulties in connection with aviation,23 commissary sales,24 and radiotelegraphy. He agreed that the first of these had now been happily surmounted and concurred in my expression in English of confidence that we would “come through the other two all right.”
I have [etc.]