812.00Sonora/354
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Clark)
The Mexican Ambassador called informally and left with me a memorandum,13 which he will supplement with a memorandum this afternoon, regarding the activities of rebel agents in the United States.
The Ambassador first expressed his appreciation, and the appreciation of his Government, for the attitude of Ambassador Morrow in Mexico and of the State Department here.
He suggested, however, that he would like us to advise the Department of Justice and the Military Intelligence Division of War of the contents of his memorandum. I told him that we would be glad to do so, and that approximately a week ago we had requested the Department of Justice and the War Department to do whatever they might do to prevent violations of our so-called neutrality statutes.
I then referred to the Ambassador’s notes regarding closure of ports and regarding the shipment of explosives to Cananea.
As to the first matter, closure of ports, I recited briefly our conduct in the Civil War, pointing out that our seizures for entering those ports were on account of breach of blockade and not breach of a law or Presidential order closing the port. I told him that I thought the Secretary would have to answer his notes and that the Secretary would have to tell him that Mexico could not close ports of which it was not in possession. However, I expressed the hope we would not get into a paper discussion of this or any other question.
With reference to the shipment of explosives to Cananea, I told him that I would recommend to the Secretary that we should not [Page 359] permit the Cananea Company to ship any considerable amount of explosives to Cananea, but that Cananea being now quiet and the people working, I thought it wise to maintain them in that condition and frame of mind, and that I should recommend to the Secretary that we permit for the present the Cananea Company to import a week’s supply of explosives at a time; but if conditions were to change so that there was likelihood of the rebels seizing the explosives, I would recommend to the Secretary that the supply on hand at any one time at Cananea be further reduced. The Ambassador expressed himself as satisfied with this arrangement.
- Dated March 11, 1929; not printed (812.00 Sonora/423). A similar memorandum was presented to the Department under date of March 28, 1929; not printed (812.00 Sonora/441).↩