763.72/3759b
The Secretary of State to President Wilson
My Dear Mr. President: There is a policy which it seems to me should be determined upon without delay as preliminary arrangements will have to be made to carry it out. It is presented by the question, If a declaration of war against Germany or if a declaration of the existence of a state of war is resolved by the Congress, what ought the Governments of Cuba and Panama to do?
It seems to me that we cannot permit Cuba to become a place of refuge for enemy aliens. It would give them great facilities for plots and intrigues not only against this country but against the peace of Cuba. I have in mind the possibility of submarine bases, the organization of reservists, the use of cables, etc., which would be to my mind very serious and possibly disastrous. In addition to this, if Cuba remained neutral, we could not use her ports for our war vessels and that might result in a renewal of the rebellious activities in the Island, which would be abetted by the Germans there. To prevent this situation there seems to me but one policy to adopt and that is to have the Cuban Government follow our action with similar action.
Both the Minister here and Minister Desvernine29 have stated that they will do whatever we wish them to do. But we ought to be prepared to tell them exactly what we want.
The Panama situation is not so easy to handle as the Government is less amenable. I feel, however, that it would be perilous to permit Germans to be at liberty to go and come so near to the Canal. It would be almost essential to have the Germans expelled from the Republic. Furthermore, the laws of neutrality would seriously embarrass our people. These conditions could only be avoided by Panama entering the war, if we become a party.
I think that I can influence the Panama Government to do whatever we wish in the matter, but it will take a little time and requires preliminary work to accomplish it.
[Page 632]Please advise me at your earliest convenience as to your wishes, because delay may cause embarrassment and possibly a dangerous situation.
Faithfully yours,
- Pablo Desvernine, Cuban Secretary of State.↩