Mr. Combs to Mr.
Hay.
Legation of the United States,
Guatemala and
Honduras,
Guatemala, April 17,
1903.
Sir: On the evening of the 14th instant the
President of Guatemala gave a dinner of about sixty covers in honor of
the diplomatic corps.
In the absence of the Spanish minister it became my duty to respond to
the remarks of the President.
I have the honor to attach hereto a copy of the few words spoken on the
occasion.
The President afterwards expressed gratification at their tone.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure.]
Mr. Combs’s remarks to the
President.
Mr. President and Gentlemen: Upon such an
auspicious occasion as this, when, as representatives of our
countries, we gather to enjoy the hospitality of your excellency, I
am going to take the liberty of disclosing a little family
history.
When the trying times recently experienced by all of us were safely
over, I confess I congratulated myself that the interest, in person
and property, of American citizens had not suffered. I rather
thought in this, my first experience in my first mission, we had
come out uncommonly well—no great damage to any one and every
request for consideration in individual cases promptly granted; but
when I was called by my amiable colleague, unfortunately absent
to-night, to discuss the situation with the diplomatic corps, I
found there was but one opinion—all had been well treated. So the
consideration shown Americans was not a display of the cordial
friendship which has happily always existed between my country and
this, was not due, as I modestly thought was possible, to my
peculiarly skillful management, but was simply an expression on the
part of your excellency of a wise and conservative policy of
absolutely fair treatment and protection to all foreign
interests.
In conclusion, I desire to express the warmest personal consideration
for your excellency on the part of the diplomatic corps. It is
surely a matter for congratulation that we should meet in the spirit
of good feeling everywhere exhibited to-night.
