816.00/829: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in El Salvador (McCafferty)
10. The Department notes from your 11, January 22, 8 p.m.,7 that Menéndez was not connected with the recent revolution. It is further noted that he is unmarried and, so far as you can ascertain from reliable sources, he is not related through consanguinity to one of the leaders of the revolution as specified in Clause 1 of Article II of the Treaty.
As stated in the Department’s 8, January 21, 7 p.m., the Department does not consider that the position of Under Secretary falls within the prohibition of Clause 2 of Article II regarding “a Secretary of State”, nor does the Department feel that the rank of Colonel indicates that such a person holds “some high military command”. The view which the Department stated, that it was not inclined to feel that the position of Under Secretary of War necessarily implies the holding of a high military command, is strengthened by the information you have reported concerning the regulations provided by executive order for the functions of an Under Secretary. It would appear from these regulations that the Under Secretary is limited to collaboration with the Minister in the direction of the work of the Ministry, and only in the absence of the Minister does he take chargé of the performance of the work of the Ministry. While he is not in charge he must obtain the verbal authorization of the Minister for even the issuance of an order. It would seem from this that the Under Secretary of War, acting under the direction of the Minister of War, fulfills duties which probably are in their nature at least as much administrative as strictly military. It would also seem from the information you have transmitted that the Under Secretary of War does not actually exercise command over any important body of troops.
In view of the foregoing it seems to the Department that under any reasonable construction of the provisions of the 1923 Treaty Menéndez would not fall within any of the categories debarred by the Treaty.
As was stated in the Department’s 8, January 21, 7 p.m., this Government is of course not in any way urging or supporting any individual for election as First Designate. The Department’s only interest in the matter of qualifications of any individual elected First [Page 571] Designate, who may eventually succeed to the presidency, is in the scrupulous carrying out of its announced policy to be guided by the principles of the Treaty of 1923 in connection with the recognition of future Governments in Central America.
- Not printed.↩