862.857 Hannover/26: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Venezuela (Corrigan)
45. Your 44, April 23, 3 p.m. Please convey a personal oral message along the lines described below to Dr. Gil Borges from the Under Secretary of State:
“The Under Secretary understands that 20 of the 21 American republics have agreed to the proposal originally set forth by the Dominican Republic, Panama, and the United States for dealing with the Hannover incident. Although the Under Secretary personally [Page 723] perceives considerable merit in the dissenting position taken by Dr. Gil Borges and is of the opinion that continued protests in the absence of implementing measures are not calculated to attain the objectives of the Declaration of Panama, he is of the opinion that the disadvantages of the procedure proposed in this particular instance are outweighed by a very great advantage, namely, that it would serve as a notification to the belligerent governments that the American republics maintain their adherence to the security zone principle in spite of the arguments advanced by the belligerent governments in their replies to the statement of the American republics dated December 23, 1939. It would furthermore serve a most useful purpose, under the circumstances which have developed since the Hannover incident took place as a demonstration of continued continental solidarity and unity of action. The Under Secretary hopes that the Inter-American Neutrality Committee will shortly formulate recommendations which may form the basis for consultation between the American republics as to the measures open to them in order to attain the objectives set forth in the Declaration of Panama. In view of these considerations the Under Secretary has ventured to make known to Dr. Gil Borges this personal expression of his views in the hope that Dr. Gil Borges will wish to reappraise his position on this matter.”
Please report the result of your interview with Dr. Gil Borges by telegram.