411.12/1146: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Mexico (Clark)

344. Your 351, December 15, 5 p.m. Go ahead and make arrangement along the lines you discussed or as near it as you can accomplish. Make it clear that the postponement of certain cases is only for a limited time and because Mexico asks it, and that the failure to press these cases at this time is not in any way a waiver of our position with regard to them, making clear that otherwise we should have gone forward with these very claims which they ask us to postpone at this time. We think the arrangement you outline is in general all right and we think the yielding to the Mexican desire for postponement of the particular cases will make Mexico’s position more difficult when they come to try to put conditions on any extensions of the conventions.

When you have got the matter tied up, ask Mr. Roa for his ideas about an en bloc settlement and how to pay it.

Stimson