852.00/6760
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Cuba (Wright)
Sir: The receipt is acknowledged of your despatch No. 235 of October 22, 1937,91 transmitting the text of a communication from the [Page 441] Secretary of State of the Cuban Government, dated October 21, 1937, requesting the participation of the United States in a joint proposal of mediation in the Spanish conflict by all the countries of America.
You are requested to transmit the following reply to the communication of the Secretary of State:
“I have been directed by my Government to inform Your Excellency that it has received, and has studied with the greatest attention, Your Excellency’s note of October 21, inviting the Government of the United States to associate itself with all the countries of the American continent in a joint offer of their good offices for the purpose of arranging an armistice, and subsequently, terms of peace, between the contending forces in Spain.
“My Government fully appreciates the concern of the Cuban Government in contemplating the deplorable situation in Spain, and its natural desire to find some peaceful method of terminating the strife which for so long has ravaged that unfortunate country. My Government is furthermore aware of the humanitarian considerations which have always actuated the Cuban Government in its firm support of the efforts which have been made to find just and peaceful means for the settlement of international disputes. At the same time, my Government recognizes that the heritage of the Cuban people, shared with the people of many other countries of America, must lend a peculiar poignancy to the sufferings and misfortunes of the Spanish people.
“The people of the United States have followed the progress of the unfortunate conflict in Spain with deep sorrow, and the sufferings of the people of that country have profoundly distressed the Government and people of the United States. It is the very earnest hope of my Government, as it is of the American people, that a peaceful method of terminating this strife may be found.
“The Government of the United States has however adopted, as a matter of principle, the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of another country, and with respect to the unfortunate conflict in Spain, my Government announced in August of 1936 that ‘in conformity with its well-established policy of non-interference with internal affairs in another country, either in time of peace or in the event of civil strife, this Government will, of course, scrupulously refrain from any interference whatsoever in the unfortunate Spanish situation.’ In observance of this policy my Government was unable to accept the proposal looking toward mediation put forward by the Government of Uruguay in August of last year, and it has subsequently been forced to decline participation in other proposals for joint intervention in that conflict.
“The Government of the United States feels confident that in the light of the foregoing the Government of Cuba will fully appreciate the considerations which preclude it from associating itself with the action proposed by that Government.”
Very truly yours,