611.5231/606: Telegram
The Ambassador in Spain ( Laughlin ) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:55 p.m.]
94. Embassy’s 93, 11th of November, 6 p.m. Lerroux leaves tonight for a meeting of the League of Nations in Paris. I have learned from him, however, that the Spanish Government cannot give us the postponement which we requested. His argument was based on the points already presented by himself and Calderon. Within the past 24 hours, he added, his Government had opened negotiations with other Governments with the object of granting them the same tariff reductions as France. He went on to say that if these countries expected to receive the advantages accorded France they must offer something in return. The United States was not to be excepted from this rule.
Upon reviewing this matter you may conclude that we cannot make any concessions. In that case you may be ready to resort to the extreme of retaliatory measures. If not, my opinion is that any protest by the United States would only result in a protracted exchange of notes over the legal features of the problem.
I have Calderon’s promise that he will let me know today just what his Government wants from the United States. This information I shall include in a later communication.