156. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Holland), Washington, August 30, 1956, 5:30 p.m.1
The Secretary called Holland and asked him what reaction he had gotten from the Latin Ambassadors as a result of today’s briefing meeting. Holland said he had had questions to take up with certain of them but, knowing them as he did, he got the idea they were impressed.
Sec. said the President said he might mention the Nicaraguan Canal at his press conference tomorrow. He suggested saying he had always been in favor of a more adequate waterway and he favored a duplicate one, putting them far enough apart so that they would not be subject to the same hazards of nature—that he had been for this for a long time. The Secretary said he thought we had a treaty [Page 304] covering this.2 Holland said he would produce it (and did)—Holland said he thought it would be a big mistake for the President to be opining on this subject now. It was a very emotional thing in Panama at the moment. Anything of that nature would be misconstrued in Panama. He thought it very unfortunate were the Pres. to say this at this time.
Holland said he would have ready some comment on this by tomorrow morning.3
(The Secretary said he wanted a note to remind him to speak to the President re the Nicaraguan Canal).
I have treaty.
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, General Telephone Conversations. Prepared in the Office of the Secretary of State.↩
- A reference to the Bryan–Chamorro Convention of 1914; for text, see 39 Stat. 1661.↩
- In a memorandum to Dulles, August 31, Holland summarized the provisions of the Bryan–Chamorro Convention between the United States and Panama, which, he noted, was “the basic agreement which would govern our relations with Nicaragua should it become the intention of our Government to construct an interoceanic ship canal in that country.” (Department of State, ARA Files: Lot 60 D 667, Nicaraguan Canal Route 1956)↩