837.00/3555: Telegram
The Ambassador in Cuba (Welles) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received 9 p.m.]
90. My telegram No. 86, June 16, 6 p.m. I was handed this afternoon by the duly accredited delegates of the University their formal acceptance of my tender of good offices. The memorandum contains the following three points as those upon which the acceptance of the University is based.
- “(1) Because the tender of good offices as a procedure recognized in international law does not imply any infringement whatever of the sovereignty or of the independence of Cuba and because from the moment in which these negotiations do not follow the course indicated to that end which is shown below, all of those who had accepted the offer would be at liberty to withdraw from the negotiations.
- (2) Because this tender of good offices has been made by the Ambassador of a government which at the present time is carrying out an anti-imperialistic policy based upon its desire of furthering more [Page 312] cordial relations between the nations of America upon a foundation of absolute respect for the rights of all and, furthermore, because of the outstanding qualities of the person of the mediator.
- (3) Because the professors hold the firm conviction, and that has been their basic motive in accepting the offer, that those negotiations will lead in a short space of time and effort to the solution of our problems making an end to present conditions in Cuba and reestablishing the rule of law which is today unknown and because through these negotiations there can be obtained the realization of the most earnest desires of the Cuban people. The professors desire likewise to emphasize that throughout the course of their deliberations and at the moment of reaching this decision they have not forgotten for a single moment the students of our University who form an essential part of the same and who have acted in so virile, self-sacrificing and generous a fashion that it could never be forgotten by any of the professors who are obligated both morally and as citizens to remember always their sacrifice and their noble idealism and above all the martyrdom of those who have fallen in a heroic struggle for right and justice”.
The formal acceptance on the part of the University was adopted unanimously and notwithstanding the protest of the three professors who have formed part of the revolutionary junta in New York. The I influence of this decision on the part of the University will be very great because the University carries far greater weight with public opinion in Cuba than can be realized outside of the Republic.
Miguel Mariano, Gómez’s representative, will visit me tomorrow morning to advise me of his acceptance of my offer on behalf of his political party.
In order to avoid any misapprehension by the American press as to the nature of the offer which I have made both to the Government and to representatives of the opposition factions I wish to emphasize that I have repeatedly stated to all elements that this offer has been limited to my “tender of good offices” with the hope that its acceptance might serve to bring about conversations in Cuba between representatives of the Government and representatives of the opposition factions in order that the Cuban people themselves might solve their domestic political problems through a program fair and satisfactory to all concerned. I have furthermore repeatedly stated that this offer not only involved no intervention on our part in Cuban domestic affairs but was made on the contrary for the specific purpose of avoiding the creation of a situation which might force the Government pf the United States to consider its responsibilities and obligations under the permanent treaty. Finally I have stated that any solution of the Cuban political problem which might be freely agreed upon as the result of the tender of my good offices by representatives of all factions of Cuban public opinion and which provided for the [Page 313] maintenance of the forms of constitutional government must be a solution which would be favorably regarded by the Government of the United States.
The terms “arbitration”, “mediation” and “good offices” are used here almost interchangeably and without any very clear realization of the distinction between these respective words. I have consistently made it plain that my offer was merely a friendly demonstration of the desire of the President of the United States to further a pacific and constitutional settlement of the policy of chaos which has continued with such tragic consequences during the past 3 years and could necessarily therefore not imply in any sense the incurring of any contractual obligation on the part of the United States.
I have obtained the publication recently of certain leading articles and editorials which make the nature of my offer very clear and I think that public opinion in Cuba now realizes the precise nature of the step I have taken. It would be helpful however if the American press also made these facts as above-indicated entirely plain.