710 Consultation 4/12–144: Telegram
The Ambassador in Ecuador (Scotten) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 2—2:37 a.m.]
1145. Department’s circular telegram of November 12, 11 a.m.62 The Embassy has just received from the Foreign Office a memorandum dated yesterday regarding Argentine situation, a translation of which reads as follows:
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It [the Government of Ecuador] believes as the United States Government states that the union of America must be a real, positive and well determined fact in order to avoid the pretense that would be involved in building the work of the American community on fictitious basis.
The Government of Ecuador is of the opinion that it should be an orientating force in the activities of all the governments of the continent at all times and especially in moments when it appears that the work of Pan-Americanism may be threatened.
It is within this orientation that the Government of Ecuador has desired to direct its policy with respect to the proposed conference of Foreign Ministers and the analysis of the Argentine case.
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In this [conference] which could be held on the date indicated by the Foreign Office of Mexico, Ecuador believes that there should be present the Foreign Ministers of all the American Republics because the importance of the problems to be solved demands their participation.
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If all the countries of our Continent participate as would be the case with a broad spirit of understanding and with a fervent desire of reestablishing Continental unity it would be easy to find the formula [Page 70] which without wounding the sentiments of the parties and fully respecting their rights would produce the disappearance from America of a danger [an obstacle] which it is not hazardous to believe could put an end to American fraternity.
Furthermore, if the conference is to be held without the presence of one American Republic, in the concrete case of Argentina, it would not be hazardous to predict the probable failure of Pan-Americanism, and grave would be the responsibility of the countries which contributed to the destruction of the work produced by the united efforts of many generations.
For these reasons and bearing in mind that certain of the aspects of procedure proposed by the Foreign Office of Mexico might lead to an intervention contrary to the principles consecrated in the Pan-American Conference at Montevideo63 and in the Conference of Peace at Buenos Aires,64 it does not believe it possible to accept the points of view, which could run counter to it.
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- See footnote 31, p. 43.↩
- The Seventh Pan American Conference, December 3–26, 1933; for correspondence concerning this Conference, see Foreign Relations, 1933, vol. iv, pp. 1 ff.↩
- The Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace, December 1–23, 1936; for correspondence concerning this Conference, see ibid., 1936, vol. v, pp. 3 ff.↩