721.23/1462
Memorandum by the Asssistant Secretary of State (White)
The Colombian Minister, accompanied by Doctor Guzmán, called and said that he understood that the League would publish its report [Page 500] on the Leticia matter today. He pointed out that this Government had taken action on January 2545 just before the League took action before [sic] and he wondered whether the League was following our action or whether we were following the League’s action—in other words, whether the initiative came from here or from Geneva.
I told the Minister that there was no connection between the two matters he had referred to. When this Government had been appealed to by Colombia, as a signatory of the Kellogg Pact, Secretary Stimson had taken action by means of a telegram to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru of January 25, to which the Minister had referred. The Secretary had consulted with representatives of certain of the countries which were original signatories of the Pact but we had not consulted the League prior to taking the action. We took the action as a signatory of the Kellogg Pact and then advised the League of the action we had taken. The League, on its part, took action on a dispute between two of its members without any consultation with us whatsoever and, after taking this action, had advised us thereof. These two independent sets of action had shown that this Government and the League looked at the matter very much in the same light.
Later on, the League presented a definite plan to Colombia and Peru. This plan was drawn up without any consultation with us and without our prior knowledge. We were asked to support the plan and we did so because we felt that the plan offered a satisfactory solution of the matter.
The Minister asked what action we would take on this report of the League and I told him that it would all depend upon the circumstances. I said that I presumed when the report is published we will be advised regarding it. We do not know whether it will require action or not or whether we will be asked to take action. If we are asked to take action, we will naturally study the report with the greatest care, and what action we will take will depend upon the nature of the report and whether we are in accord therewith or not.
The Minister said that if the report was one with which we agreed he presumed that we would make representations to the Peruvian Government. I told the Minister that while we had done so in the past this was a question which was rather a hypothetical one and I did not feel that I was in a position to indicate in advance what action we would take; it would all depend upon the circumstances.