422.11 G 93/1170½
The Ecuadoran Minister (Elizdde) to the Secretary of State
Memorandum
The Minister of Ecuador has the honor to confirm unofficially, his conversation of this morning with Mr. Sumner Welles, Chief of the Latin-American Division of the Department of State, relative to the cablegram of the Government of Ecuador which he showed to him.
It is a fact that the Government of Ecuador has more than a million sucres deposited in the Commercial and Agricultural Bank of Guayaquil for the payment of the railway bondholders, which fund the Government earnestly wishes to send to its destination so as to avert any risk but finds itself unable to make remittance on account of the high cost of bills of exchange.
As the complaints of bondholders generally come to the State Department through the Guayaquil & Quito Railway Co. when there is any delay in the payments, the Government of Ecuador transmits this information to the Department, not only in evidence of its willingness [Page 886] to meet those obligations, but also to find out whether any means could be suggested to transfer those funds to London or New York, either through the purchase of Ecuadorean products or in any other manner which will facilitate the realization of the wishes of the Government of Ecuador.