411.12/1586: Telegram
The Chargé in Mexico (Lane) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:45 p.m.]
65. I called on Minister of Foreign Affairs this morning at his request. Doctor Puig read to me a telegram which he had sent to Ambassador González Roa6 on April 3rd requesting the latter to talk [Page 799] to Ambassador Daniels7 regarding the advisability of initiating discussions on en bloc settlement and deferring for the time being further negotiations with regard to the appointment of a presiding commissioner of the General Claims Commission. Doctor Puig also read me a telegram from Ambassador González Roa dated April 5th reporting that he had a long conversation with Ambassador Daniels that morning and that Ambassador Daniels agreed that it would be advisable to defer further talks regarding the appointment of a presiding commissioner until he had had an opportunity to discuss en bloc settlement with Doctor Puig.
I told Doctor Puig that of course 1 had no instructions either from the Department or from Ambassador Daniels as to deferring discussions concerning presiding commissioner. Emphasizing that it was merely my own personal view, I said that I thought it was unfortunate not to proceed with the reconstitution of the General Claims Commission, as presumably discussions regarding en bloc settlement would occupy a period of several months, and that I thought it would be difficult for our Government satisfactorily to explain to claimants and to Congress the delay in reconstitution of the Claims Commission. In this connection please see my despatch 2422 of March 27th, page 5.8
While I did not so state I had in mind the possibility that the negotiations for en bloc settlement might not be consummated and that therefore the functioning of the General Claims Commission would be delayed by the amount of time required to discuss en bloc settlement.