817.812/896
The Minister in Costa Rica (Hornibrook) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 30.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s telegraphic instruction No. 56 of October 7,26 and to report as follows:
Colonel Charles P. Gross and his party of army engineers arrived here on October 19. On the following day I presented the Colonel and three other army engineers to the Minister of Foreign Affairs with the idea that they would pay their respects, exchange a few pleasantries and depart. The Foreign Minister, however, immediately launched into a discussion of the canalization project, produced a map and requested Colonel Gross to outline the proposed route of the canal project. The explanation lasted for an hour and three quarters with the result, I think, that many phases of the situation were clarified in the mind of the Foreign Minister. In fact at a cocktail party the night following, he informed me that the explanation had been satisfactory. I did not participate in the discussion, at the Foreign Office, nor did I discuss the treaty negotiations or technical details at the cocktail party the following evening.
On the same afternoon I took the group of officers to President Leon Cortés to pay their respects. They were received most cordially and the President expressed a keen interest in the proposed project. He stated, however, that he was not competent to pass upon the technical matters confronting the American engineers and therefore designated Mr. Francisco Pacheco, Minister of Public Works and a graduate of an American engineering school, as his representative for the purpose of obtaining information as to the plans thus far outlined by Colonel Gross.
[Page 743]I may state in connection with both of the above-mentioned interviews Colonel Gross at no time expressed an opinion as to proposed negotiations, and confined his remarks and explanations exclusively to the technical points involved. He did make it plain, however, that he did not come to San José with the idea of “selling” the project to Costa Rica, but merely to aid the Government by explaining the engineering problems. He also requested certain economic information from the President who promised to provide the same.
On October 21 Mr. Cordero Reyes arrived from Managua with a new draft treaty. It has heretofore been stated in the press that he would not return unless he received an official invitation from the Costa Rican Government, and, as far as I have been able to ascertain, no such invitation was extended. I have not as yet seen Mr. Cordero Reyes, but assume that when I do he will perhaps discuss this feature of his visit.
The Nicaraguan Foreign Minister will in all probability not be able to have any extended talks with the American engineers during their brief visit here for the reason that the Costa Rican Government has arranged for trips which will consume most of the remaining days of their visit. The officers, however, will be in the company of Mr. Pacheco and will have ample time to discuss engineering problems. They plan to leave here on October 26.
Respectfully yours,
- This telegram repeated telegram No. 77, October 7, 3 p.m., to the Minister in Nicaragua, supra.↩