711.00 Statement July 16, 1937/272

The Chargé in Spain (Thurston) to the Secretary of State

[Extract]
No. X–191

Sir: In confirmation of my telegram number 737, of August 14, 1937,36 I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy and a translation of the message from the Spanish Government endorsing the principles advocated in the statement made by the Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, on July 16, 1937.

Upon the receipt August 13 of the Department’s telegraphic instruction number 373, of August 12, I called at the Ministry of State and informed Señor Giral of its import.…

[Page 790]

Señor Giral stated that he was gratified by the Department’s message, as he had been puzzled and disturbed by the apparent failure to include Spain among the Governments invited to comment on the Secretary’s statement—the text of which had been furnished him by the Spanish Ambassador at Paris. He had, in fact, instructed Ambassador de los Ríos37 to make inquiries on this point at the Department, where he had been assured that the omission of Spain had been the result of an oversight.

[Here follow comments in the Spanish press with respect to the American statement of July 16.]

Respectfully yours,

Walter C. Thurston
[Enclosure—Translation]

The Spanish Minister of State (Giral) to the American Chargé (Thurston)

The Government of the Republic has examined with the greatest interest the statement of the Secretary of State, Mr. Hull, whose appeal in favor of international peace meets with the most lively sympathy of the Spanish democracy.

The Spanish Republic remains faithful to the principles written into its Constitution of 1931, by virtue of which “Spain renounces war as an instrument of national policy”, “complies with the universal rules of international law”, and incorporates into its laws the principles of the pact of the League of Nations.

The Government of the Republic has never deviated from the course indicated by its Constitution, which permits it to point to a complete coincidence, both in doctrine and in practice, with the principles defended by Mr. Hull in his statement which, under present circumstances when the Spanish people are the victims of a foreign invasion and suffer the sorrow of a war in defense of their independence, has a singular importance and inspires a gratifying hope for the reestablishment of peace and law among the nations.

The Spanish Government declares, in consequence, that it is disposed to collaborate in the common task of the organization of peace, in conformity with the terms indicated with such high authority by Mr. Hull.

José Giral

  1. Not printed.
  2. Spanish Ambassador in the United States.