810.79611 Pan American Airways, Inc./101
The Assistant Secretary of State (White) to the Minister in Guatemala (Geissler)
Dear Mr. Minister: The Pan American Airways were not successful in obtaining a contract in Guatemala for the carrying of air mail and for that reason have dropped it and have taken up negotiations in Honduras and Nicaragua. They have now obtained a contract in Nicaragua and will probably obtain a contract in Honduras within the next few days. We also expect the matter of their contract in British Honduras to be arranged this week. The Post Office Department gave them the contract last week for ten years to carry the mails from Key West to the Panama Canal and they will go via Cuba, Mérida in Yucatan, Belize, Tela, Tegucigalpa, Managua, San José, and Panama. It is not necessary for them to come into Guatemala but it occurs to me, now that the Guatemalan Government sees that they are being left out, and it was on account of their failure to give a contract to the Pan American Airways that the Post Office Department excluded Guatemala in the call for bids, that Guatemala may now think better of it and Avant to give a satisfactory contract to this company. Will you please let me know what the situation is and whether you think this is now a favorable moment for the company to take the matter up again by sending a representative to Guatemala. They can probably do so after their Honduran-Costa Rican concessions have been completed.
With kindest regards [etc.]