740.00111A/111: Telegram

The Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery) to the Secretary of State

371. Department’s circular telegram of October 19, 4 p.m.35 I transmitted pertinent information to Nabuco36 (Aranha37 will probably not return to Foreign Office until middle of next week). Nabuco said that he would make at once a study of the possibility of Brazil’s adopting similar action. However, he was under the impression that paragraph 3, subparagraph K of the general declaration of neutrality read that neutrals “must exclude belligerent submarines et cetera” and was disappointed to learn that it said “may exclude.”

He then asked me to telegraph Department that he hopes that Brazil can count on the vote of the United States for a Brazilian candidate for the Inter-American Neutrality Committee provided for in paragraph 5 of the general declaration of neutrality. He went on to say that he presumed to ask this not only in view of our well known friendly relations but also in view of the fact that Brazil [Page 679] covers such a large part of South America, contains such a large population, only Portuguese language country, et cetera.

Nabuco remarked several times that he had not yet seen text of Panama Final Act.38 I sent him the single copy I received this morning.

Caffery
  1. Printed in vol. v , section entitled “Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the American Republics…”
  2. Mauricio Nabuco, Secretary General of the Brazilian Foreign Office.
  3. Oswaldo Aranha, Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
  4. Signed October 3, 1939, Department of State Bulletin, October 7, 1939, p. 321; for correspondence concerning meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the American Republics at Panama, September 23–October 3, 1939, see vol. v .