710.Peace/630
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The Spanish Ambassador26 came in to inquire whether this Government would object to the presence of an observer of the Spanish Government at the coming Pan American Peace meeting.
I replied that I would like to say in the first place that I really knew of nothing which might occur at the coming peace meeting that any of us would not be quite glad to make known to the Spanish Government, and that that best illustrated my state of mind and [Page 23] general attitude toward the Spanish Government with respect to this request. I then said that since the matter would not come up until the time of the meeting, I would in the meantime confer with and more or less defer to leading representatives of the Latin American Governments, including possibly some of the present members of the Pan American Governing Board.
I inquired of the Ambassador as to how many similar requests would or might be made by other countries represented by their own races in Latin America,—such as the Portuguese in Brazil, the French in Haiti, the Italians in several countries, and two or three others besides. The Ambassador replied that he had no information on this subject. I remarked that at the last regular meeting of the American nations at Montevideo it was my recollection that motions were adopted by two or three other European countries to have observers, after the Spanish Government was given the privilege. I finally remarked that the Ambassador of course was aware that this latter situation might again develop; that furthermore the question might be raised as to the limited nature of the Pan American organization, which related solely to the Western Hemisphere; that the 21 American nations would look to other countries to provide membership in organizations of a worldwide nature dealing with world problems, rather than Pan American problems; that there were some 50 to 60 such world organizations and about that many world conferences each year.
I remarked upon the warm relations of friendship existing between the Spanish Government and each and all of the American nations, of the special relationship between Spain and the 20 Latin American countries of this Hemisphere, and repeated my unreserved feeling that nothing would occur at the coming peace meeting which any of us would not be quite glad to make known to the Spanish Government, and that was apart from any question as to the appointment of an observer.
- Luis Calderon.↩