815.00/2571: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Honduras (Morales)
20. Merely for your information.
On May 12 the Honduranean Minister called on the Under Secretary and left with him a copy of a telegram from President Lopez Gutierrez mentioning the failure of the recent conference of candidates and stating that it is generally considered that without an agreement among the candidates there was imminent danger of civil war in the near future. The President stated that he was determined to avoid this danger, maintaining public order at any cost, and he instructed the Minister to inquire how far the Department would support him in this.
The Minister was told that you had been doing your utmost to bring about an amelioration of conditions referred to, but that if the [Page 430] political leaders desired to fight and destroy their country it would be impossible to prevent them. It was pointed out that the last portion of the telegram was rather vague, but the Minister said that he presumed that the President would like a statement that the United States would not permit civil war on the north coast. He was told that no assurance of this kind could be given.