837.00/2834
The Chargé in Cuba ( Reed ) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 19.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that press agency despatches containing an alleged statement by the Undersecretary of State regarding the possible attitude of the United States in the event of a revolution in Cuba have occasioned widespread comment in the local press.
This statement as furnished the Havana Post by the Associated Press reads as follows:
“In conference with newspapermen earlier in the day, Secretary Cotton declared there had been no political report on Cuba and that the question of a possible United States attitude in the event of revolution in Cuba had not been brought to his attention.
“Closely questioned he agreed that special treaty relations with Cuba placed ‘a definite duty of assistance in Cuba’ on this government in the event of general disorder in the island. He said, however, that a prophecy could not wisely be made as to what action this government would take in event of a Cuban revolution.
“The secretary said the treaty relations with Cuba were not duplicated in this country’s relations with other countries to the South, in answer to the suggestion that the United States might be just as disinterested in Cuba as in Argentina and Peru, he recalled the Piatt amendment9 to show that the suggestion of this possibility was unfounded.
“The acting secretary said, however, it could be of no benefit to outline a course of action for this government in regard to Cuba before some event in the island necessitated the formulation of an official attitude. He said he did not care to ‘speculate’ concerning Cuban conditions.”
The opposition newspaper El Pais interprets the remarks attributed to Mr. Cotton as confirming the great interest of the United States Government in Cuban affairs. In the same edition, this paper published a report, which was later denied, that Ambassador Guggenheim had been ordered to return to Cuba immediately in view of the gravity of the situation here.
The Government press, represented by Heraldo de Cuba, construed the statement as reported as manifesting the intention of the Department of State to discourage any revolutionary activities in Cuba and to support the constituted authorities in the event of an outbreak.
While the reports of Cuban unrest which apparently have been published in the American press are exaggerated, it is nevertheless true that rumors of an alarming nature have been more prevalent [Page 656] during the last few days than at any time here during the last year. The reason for this is probably to be found in the proximity of the elections and in the desire of the Administration’s opponents to cause them to be postponed until after electoral reforms and a reorganization of the parties shall have been carried out. Although the Nacionalistas profess to be opposed to American intervention in any form, their present campaign of propaganda is undoubtedly inspired to a considerable extent by the hope that the Government of the United States can be induced to suggest the desirability of putting off the elections to a later date.
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Respectfully yours,
- For text of act of U. S. Congress, approved March 2, 1901, see Foreign Relations, 1902, p. 320; or 31 Stat. 897. For text of treaty of May 22, 1903, between the United States and Cuba, see Foreign Relations, 1904, p. 243.↩