865.85/366: Telegram
The Chargé in Uruguay (Chapin) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:29 p.m.]
159. Department’s telegram No. 62, April 17. Guani expressed particular satisfaction with the last part of paragraph B of the [Page 194] resolution which he felt went far to assert the juridical right of the American Unions [Nations?] to deal with the immobilized merchant shipping and which might render unnecessary any further declaration condemning diplomatic intervention in such cases (see my telegram No. 156, April 14).
Guani said, however, that while as far as Uruguay was concerned he would prefer to keep the present text unaltered throughout, he felt that our Government might wish to consider changing the word should after the word war and before the word now in paragraph (a) substituting therefor the word could. By making the sense of this declaration facultative rather than obligatory, Guani believes that there is more likelihood of obtaining Argentine adherence to the resolution. In his opinion the declaration under paragraph (b) is the most important and he added that there were obvious advantages in having as nearly a unanimous adherence as possible.
That he was quite content to leave to our Government any decision as to this suggested change and that in any event the United States could count on complete support from the Uruguayan Government on the basis of the preliminary text submitted which he felt was eminently satisfactory. As I was leaving, Guani informed me that he was making a full declaration as to Uruguay’s attitude toward immobilized shipping to the press of the Americas this evening but that this official explanation would contain no new points which he had not already communicated to me and was intended primarily to serve as a means of informing the Americas of his reply to the Italian Minister. Since it contained certain personal references he could not make public the text of his note in reply to the Italian Minister’s protest.