Office of the Historian

Executive Agreement Series No. 66

811.7423 Amateur/4

The American Ambassador in Peru (Dearing) to the Permian Minister for Foreign Affairs (Polo)23

No. 562
Lima, February 16, 1934.

Excellency: Upon instructions from my Government, I have the honor to bring the following matter to Your Excellency’s attention:

An important restriction upon the international exchange of messages by amateur radio stations on behalf of third parties was incorporated in Article 8 of the Radio Regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication Convention of Madrid, of which Sections 1 and 2 read as follows:

  • “§ 1. The exchange of communications between amateur stations and between private experimental stations of different countries shall be forbidden if the Administration of one of the countries concerned has given notice of its opposition to this exchange.
  • “§ 2. (1) When this exchange is permitted, the communications must be carried out in plain language and be limited to messages having to do with experiments and remarks of a private nature tor which, by reason of their unimportance, there could be no question of resorting to the public telegraph service. Owners of amateur stations shall be strictly prohibited from transmitting international communications emanating from third parties.
  • “(2) The above provisions may be modified by special arrangements between the interested countries.”

This prohibition upon the exchange of third party messages was not contained in the earlier Radio Regulations, and in deference to [Page 780] the wishes of those governments which might wish to permit the international exchange of such messages, the provision permitting the relaxation of the prohibition by special arrangements was introduced.

The Radio Regulations of Madrid were signed on behalf of Peru and the United States, but they have not yet been ratified by the United States, nor so far as my Government is aware, have they been ratified by Peru. In view of the possible future ratification of the Regulations, however, it is believed desirable to keep the prohibition above quoted from applying at the time of such ratification to messages transmitted by amateur radio stations on behalf of third parties.

In recognition of the important services which amateurs have rendered in the development of radio, my Government is suggesting to a number of other governments the conclusion of agreements which would give radio amateurs some relaxation from the restriction introduced at Madrid by authorizing, within narrow limits, the exchange of messages on behalf of third parties. Such relaxation of the restriction, however, would be of a kind which would not permit radio amateurs to compete with public or commercial radio or telegraph systems.

The proposed agreement refers only to messages exchanged on behalf of third parties, for, under the Madrid regulations, operators of amateur stations may exchange international messages on their own behalf in the absence of a prohibition upon such exchange by one of the interested governments.

I therefore suggest to Your Excellency, and my Government hopes that that of Peru will agree to, an exchange of notes in the following terms:

“Amateur radio stations of Peru and of the United States may interchange messages on behalf of third parties, provided that such messages shall be of the character that would not normally be sent by any existing means of electrical communication or except for the availability of the amateur stations, and on which no compensation must be directly or indirectly paid.

“This arrangement shall apply to the United States and its territories and possessions including Alaska, the Hawaain Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Panama Canal Zone and the Philippine Islands.

“This arrangement shall be subject to termination by either government on sixty days’ notice to the other government, by further arrangement between the two governments dealing with the same subject, or by the enactment of legislation in either country inconsistent therewith”.

I avail myself [etc.]

Fred Morris Dearing
  1. Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in Peru in his despatch No. 3513, July 25; received August 9.↩