811.24522/2–246: Telegram

The Ambassador in Ecuador ( Scotten ) to the Secretary of State

restricted

56. Shaw12 and I attended the ceremony of the turning over of the base at Salinas yesterday to the Ecuadoran authorities. General Crittenberger,13 two general officers and an Admiral from the Canal Zone as well as the Ecuadoran Minister of Defense,14 many high Ecuadoran officials and a representative from the Foreign Office were present. The ceremony went off smoothly and the Minister for Defense expressed very clearly the appreciation of his Govt for the reception of all the equipment on the base. A luncheon followed for General Crittenberger at which he and General Homer15 received decorations from the Ecuadoran Govt. We took to Salinas the press representative of IIS [INS?] who flew back a detailed account of the ceremony and an excellent photographic record. Both the photographs and news account are published in all the Quito newspapers of this morning and I feel that this turnover has been given adequate and very favorable publicity from our point of view.

Scotten
  1. George P. Shaw, Counselor of Embassy.
  2. Lt. Gen. Willis D. Crittenberger, Commanding General, Caribbean Defense Command.
  3. Col. Carlos Macheno.
  4. Maj. Gen. John L. Homer, Deputy Commander, Panama Canal Department.