711F.1914/473: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Panama ( Wilson )
394. Your 455, May 8, 4 p.m. Decision to set the date for signing the defense site agreement and releasing the statement on Wednesday, May 13, noon, Panamanian time, is agreeable to the Department.
Since the Panamanian Government intends to make public the text of the defense site agreement the Department does not care to object and will do likewise. It is assumed that the attached memorandum listing the sites will not be made public.
With reference to the twelve points the Department prefers not to release at this time any formal text covering any of these points, but has no objection to including in the proposed public statement the substance of the twelve points agreement. Accordingly, the statement to be issued simultaneously in Washington will contain a brief description of the negotiations, the text of the defense site agreement (not including the attached list) and a brief reference to the major points included in the twelve point agreement.
[The agreement for the leasing of defense sites in Panama was signed in Panama on May 18, 1942; for text, see Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 359, or 57 Stat. (pt. 2) 1232. The “twelve points” agreement was signed in Washington on May 18, 1942, and was published in 1945; for text, see Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 452, or 59 Stat. (pt. 2) 1289.]