File No. 422.11G93/974
The Ecuadoran Minister ( Elizalde) to the Secretary of State
Memorandum
Since the daily payments, which the Government of Ecuador has reestablished to take care of the service of the interest on the bonds of the Guayaquil & Quito Railroad Co., are a certain percentage of the revenues from the customs, and since these revenues have diminished much because of the war in Europe, and because of the restrictions on importation and exportation imposed by the United States, the above-referred-to certain percentage probably will not be enough to cover the entire value of the interest coupons for the present year.
In order to make possible the complete payment of these coupons, the Government of Ecuador proposes that it be permitted to export to the United States all the cacao which is actually stored in Ecuador, which is about 14,000 tons. The price of sale would be used for the entire payment of the coupons, which payment amounts to $859,740.
The difference between the value of the cacao and of the coupon payments will permit the Government of Ecuador to sell drafts on the United States to Ecuadoran importers and will invigorate the importation of American-manufactured articles in Ecuador.
- The Spanish word “cupón” has been translated incorrectly herein as “coupons” and as “coupon payments.”↩