817.00 Woodward Electoral Mission/56
The Minister in Nicaragua ( Hanna ) to the Chief of the Division of Latin American Affairs ( Wilson )
[Received April 26.]
Dear Ed: I am sending in the air mail today Confidential Despatch No. 753 of April 18, 1932,39 enclosing the modified plan for the protection of the Electoral Mission as forwarded to the Navy Department by Admiral Smith.
When I passed through Panama, Admiral Smith received instructions from the Navy Department to come to Managua, if he saw fit, for a conference in an effort to arrive at some arrangement which would obviate the sending of Marine reinforcements which he had previously recommended. Consequently, the conferences we have had here in the last day or so, have been for the purpose of enabling Admiral Smith to reply to the Navy Department, and I have thought it desirable that the changes recommended should reach the Department of State from the Navy Department. The modification of plan “B” is, therefore, the recommendation of Admiral Smith and his colleagues here, and I wanted the record clear in that respect. I am in complete accord, however, with the recommendation, and this was stated in Admiral Smith’s telegram to the Navy Department.
The guiding principle in formulating the revised plan was that Americans should not be used in places of danger and that therefore no additional forces would be needed for their protection. You will [Page 799] note that there has been an increase in the number of mesas to be under the supervision of Nicaraguans, but it was deemed here that there could be no valid objection to making this increase as it was merely an extension of the principle already adopted in plan “B”.
Very sincerely yours,
- Not printed.↩