714.18/28

The Minister in Guatemala (Hanna) to the Secretary of State

No. 427

Sir: I duly received on December 31, 1934, the Department’s instruction No. 121 of December 19, 1934, transmitting a copy of a confidential [Page 233] letter addressed to Minister Sack by President Jiménez of Costa Rica in which the latter presented his point of view and that of his Government with reference to certain influences affecting the relations between his Government and that of Guatemala. The instruction authorized me to acquaint President Ubico with the point of view of President Jiménez and to suggest that the two Governments may deem it desirable to exchange accredited diplomatic representatives of the rank of Minister. I now have the honor to report that I have complied with the instruction.

I lost no time in acquainting the Minister for Foreign Affairs with the general tenor of the instruction and with the developments in the matter subsequent to the assurance he gave me on November 30 that his Government would be grateful for any help the Government of the United States might give in improving relations between Guatemala and Costa Rica, but I did not reveal to him the contents of President Jiménez’ letter to Mr. Sack. I requested the Minister to arrange for me to see President Ubico in this connection.

Due to the absence of President Ubico from the capital and to other circumstances it was not practicable for me to see him before today. He was very attentive to my presentation of the point of view of President Jiménez. The Minister for Foreign Affairs had previously assured me that President Ubico looked with favor on the Department’s suggestion for an exchange of diplomatic representatives, but that the President was of the opinion that the initiative should be taken by the Government of Costa Rica. At the outset of my conversation with the President he expressed this as his attitude but he was less insistent concerning who should take the initiative after I had explained the viewpoint of President Jiménez. I told him in this connection that I thought it probable that the Department in rendering the assistance asked of it in this matter would endeavor to do so in a way which would not offend the susceptibilities of either of the Governments but, on the contrary, would endeavor to arrange for the exchange of diplomatic representatives on the basis of the fulfillment of the mutual desire of the two Governments. President Ubico then assured me that his Government would send a telegram requesting the agrément for its Minister to Costa Rica the moment that a similar telegram was received here from the Government of Costa Rica.

If President Jiménez is also agreeable to the Department’s suggestion, it would seem that the question of who takes the initiative might be arranged satisfactorily by an agreement between the parties concerned that the telegrams requesting the agréments for the respective ministers would be sent on the same day.

I should add in this connection that this Government continues to be most sensitive to criticisms which are still appearing in the newspapers of San José, and that both the Minister for Foreign Affairs [Page 234] and the President appear to be quite incapable of comprehending why the press there is not controlled as it is here. They manifestly think that the governmental restraint which prevents the press here from criticizing neighboring republics is a valuable contribution to good understanding among them and should also be imposed in San José. They view with some intolerance what they seem to interpret as weakness in President Jiménez, and it may be that they are somewhat skeptical concerning the effect the proposed exchange of Ministers may have on the relations between the two countries if the more fundamental causes of the existing difficulties are not removed. They seem to realize, however, that the two Ministers if accredited may accomplish something to this end.

Respectfully yours,

Matthew E. Hanna