865.85/340: Telegram
The Chargé in Uruguay (Chapin) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 15—2:39 a.m.]
156. My 154, April 13, 5 p.m.6 This evening in individual appointments lasting approximately one-half hour each the Minister for Foreign Affairs explained to the various American Chiefs of [Page 188] Mission Uruguay’s recent action in placing Italian and Danish ships under custody and the request for a continental decision by the Inter-American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee, and presumably appealed for support of Uruguay’s action by the various American Governments.
In my interview, which concluded the proceedings, Guani appeared to be in particularly good spirits. He stated that he felt everything was going well and that he had an additional question to submit to the Washington committee through his representative, namely to attempt to obtain an inter-American declaration intimating disapproval if not actually condemning diplomatic intervention in cases involving merchant ships which he felt were in international law no different from individuals who had not only come within jurisdiction of the country in which they might be but who had actually used that country as asylum. He asked what I thought of this reasoning and when I remarked that it appeared to be merely an extension of the Calvo Doctrine7 and that I doubted whether the committee, being a technical, economic one, could properly rule on such a matter, he agreed and said that while he hoped for an intimation of opinion perhaps all that could be obtained would be a reference of the question to the appropriate inter-American body for definite decision.
Guani then went on to develop other ideas not immediately relevant which will be reported by air mail despatch.