711.00111 Lic. Martin Company, Glenn L./52/5
The Acting Secretary of State to the Glenn L. Martin Company, Baltimore, Maryland42
Sirs: In reply to your inquiry, I beg to say that the attitude and policy of this Government relative to the question of intervention in the affairs of other sovereign nations has been well known especially since the conclusion of the Montevideo Treaty of 1933.43
[Page 476]For your further information, I enclose a copy of a circular telegraphic instruction which was recently sent to certain consular representatives in Europe44 and which has not been made public up to the present.
I desire to call especial attention to the reference therein to our neutrality laws and to the fact that they have no application in the present Spanish situation, since they apply only in the event of war between or among nations.
Furthermore, I invite your attention with equal force to the reference, in the same circular instruction, to this Government’s well established policy of non-interference with internal affairs in other countries, as well as to the statement that this Government will, of course, scrupulously refrain from any interference whatsoever in the unfortunate Spanish situation. At the same time the Department expressed the opinion that American citizens, both at home and abroad, are patriotically observing this recognized American policy.
In view of the above, it seems reasonable to assume that the sale of aeroplanes, regarding which you inquire, would not follow the spirit of the Government’s policy.
Very truly yours,
- Substance of this letter was communicated in telegram No. 307, August 15, noon, to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom, with instructions to repeat to the Ambassadors in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain (711.00111 Lic. Martin Company, Glenn L./52/6).↩
- Convention on Rights and Duties of States, signed December 26, 1933, Foreign Relations, 1933, vol. iv, p. 214.↩
- Circular telegram of August 7, 5 p.m., p. 471.↩