352.1115/2138: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul at Seville (Bay)
Francisco Lamas Zarauza, an American citizen, yesterday tried by court martial at Ferrol on a charge of aiding the workers against the insurgents and death penalty requested. General Auditor for Justice at La Coruna states that he expects sentence to be sent to him today for revision after which Burgos Junta will be called upon to make final revision. We have instructed Consul, Vigo,79 to proceed at once to La Coruna to interview the Captain General of the Eighth Division and urge upon him strongly that the death sentence be not imposed, pointing out that the imposition of so drastic a sentence could not fail to cause in the United States an intensely hostile reaction which it is presumed the insurgent authorities would not desire unnecessarily to provoke.
We desire that you request General Queipo de Llano with the least possible delay to bring this matter to the attention of General Franco [Page 752] urging him to view the case from the standpoint of larger policy and to instruct the authorities at La Coruna, therefore, not to decree the death penalty for Lamas since the execution of this American national might well through its influence upon American public opinion have far reaching effects upon matters which are not as yet involved in this case.
- Telegram No. 31, November 4, 2 p.m., to the Minister in Portugal, not printed.↩