715.1715/883: Telegram
The Special Representative of the President (Corrigan) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:55 p.m.]
4. The fourth meeting of the Commission, which was a private session, was held yesterday afternoon. A tentative program of procedure was formulated covering the steps to be taken regarding the present crisis, before proceeding to a consideration of the fundamental issue, the boundary controversy. In this connection I presented to the Commission a translation of the suggestions listed in my orders under section 1. The remainder of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of the methods to be followed in receiving the complaints of the delegates of the contending countries and of the technique to be followed in obtaining their agreement to the Commission’s suggestions. It was decided to request the delegates to present briefs giving “a concrete exposition of the events which have occurred in each of [Page 103] the countries which have caused the present state of tension, without for the moment entering into the fundamental bases of the controversy”.
Tactful handling of the numerous press representatives, who are overeager to obtain a front page story daily, presents a real problem. If the Department perceives no objection, I am considering suggesting to the Commission that it invite the press to a special meeting, cite the favorable reception accorded by the peoples of the world to the principles underlying the Buenos Aires and other peace pacts, and frankly to invite them to cooperate with the Commission, in the interests of peace, to give practical effect to these principles, by refraining from the publication of inflammatory editorials and exaggerated, unconfirmed, distorted or invented tales of troop movements, atrocities and so forth. Such a self-imposed restraint might be more effective than any promises by governments to prevent such actions by all the means within their restricted legal powers.
Following the afternoon session the Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs and his fellow-delegate called on me by appointment made at their request to complain that the Honduran press is continuing to print inflammatory articles and editorials. He presented me with copies of two recent Honduran newspapers as justification for this complaint. He also desired to apologize on behalf of President Somoza for his not having greeted me at the airport in Managua on Tuesday, stating that he was out of the city at the time and did not know that I was passing through. I gained the impression that Nicaragua would not oppose too strongly a move to refer to arbitration the question of the legality of the award of the King of Spain. The Commission meets again at 3:00 this afternoon.