821.6363 Barco/454: Telegram
The President of Colombia ( Olaya ) to the Colombian Legation 24
Please give my cordial compliments to Mr. White and deliver to him the following message:
As you are aware, my greatest desire is to eliminate all the difficulties which may formerly have existed in the development of commercial, industrial and other ties between Colombia and the United States. Among the difficulties referred to are those relative to the so-called Barco concession, and in order to close a definitive adjustment there are lacking only certain points, which are, properly speaking, explanatory statements of conditions, for the purpose of preventing, later on, any risk of future disputes and possible difficulties. I believe that on this point the interest of the Company, that of the Colombian Government and that of the United States coincide or ought to coincide so that the new contract may be a clear and unambiguous document and an effective guarantee of cordial relations and harmony between the company and the Government. Minister Caffery, whose valuable aid I highly appreciate, shares with me this opinion and for that reason he has offered to recommend by cable the adoption in the contract of certain stipulations which Caffery will detail to the Department and which I sincerely believe serve principally to eliminate from the contract ambiguities which later might be the source of difficulties and disputes. If the points referred to in Mr. Caffery’s cable are accepted by the Gulf, the contract would be signed immediately and we would proceed to present it at once to Congress, supporting it before that body very vigorously in order to bring about its prompt approval. It would be deeply regrettable if because of incomplete [Page 25] understanding of the situation we should endanger a negotiation which we have succeeded in bringing almost to an end after overcoming a great many obstacles. I hope that this time the cooperation by friends in the Department will not be lacking for the success of an effort advantageous in every sense and which will contribute also to widening the field in which we can develop further the friendship between our two countries.
- Copy handed to Assistant Secretary White on February 26 by the Colombian Chargé.↩