been pointed out that the direct benefit which has accrued to the United States and its possessions as the result of the international movement for the settlement of the opium problem has been many times greater than the amount so far appropriated by the Congress and, further, that it has been a principle of the Department of State to request small appropriations to carry on the work as it develops, rather than a single large appropriation which it has known might be necessary to bring the work to a conclusion. The appropriation made by the Congress is now practically exhausted, and an additional sum is necessary for the conclusion of the great humanitarian object, through the cooperation of the Federal Government with that of the Netherlands and with those of the other foreign powers. I have therefore the honor to request that you be good enough to submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with a view to its inclusion in the general deficiency bill, the following item of appropriation: To enable this Government to continue its efforts to mitigate if not entirely stamp out the opium, morphine, and other allied drug evils by further investigations and proceedings and through another international conference, if necessary, to make effective the results heretofore accomplished, twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of State. I have [etc.]. P. C. KNOX. NOTE.-On July 10, 1912, the Secretary of the Treasury called the attention of Congress to the foregoing letter of July 2, 1912, and added his own recommendation to that of the Secretary of State, relative to the urgency of the desired appropriation of $25,000. (House Doc. 1043, 62d Congress, 3d session.) House Doc. No. 1043, 62d Cong., 3d sess. The Secretary of the Treasury to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.1 TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, copy of a communication from the Secretary of State of October 28, 1912, submitting an estimate of appropriation in the sum of $25,000 to enable this Government to continue its efforts to mitigate the opium, morphine, and other allied drug evils. A similar estimate was transmitted to Congress at the request of the Secretary of State on July 2, 1912 (H. Doc. No. 861, 62d Cong., 2d sess.), for inclusion in the general deficiency bill, but was not so acted upon by Congress, and the Secretary of State renews the estimate at this time with a view to its inclusion in an urgent deficiency bill. FRANKLIN MACVEAGH. Respectfully, [Inclosure.] The Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Treasury. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 28, 1912. SIR: On June 29 of this year I had the honor to address you requesting you to be good enough to submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with a view to its inclusion in the general deficiency bill, an item appropriating $25,000 to enable this Government to continue its efforts to mitigate the opium, morphine, and other allied drug evils. In accordance with my request, on July 1 Referred to the Committee on Appropriations December 5, 1912, and ordered to be printed. 2 you addressed the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the above sense. The Congress, however, failed to include in the general deficiency bill the item in question. In my letter it was pointed out that diplomatic and economic difficulties might make necessary the holding of another conference at The Hague in the near future, at which final action on the questions involved would be taken. It is now quite certain that a concluding conference will be held, convening early in the coming year, and bearing in mind the prominence of this Government in the international movement looking to the eradication of these drug evils, bearing in mind indeed that it was on the initiation of this Government that there was held, first, the international commission to study the various aspects of the question, and then the international conference of last winter, to finish the work of which the coming conference is to be called, the absolute necessity of the appropriation I am now requesting is apparent. The failure of the Congress to make this appropriation means the failure of this Government to assist in carrying out the work which it initiated, a work which it is manifestly pledged to conclude. With a view to its inclusion in the urgent deficiency bill, I therefore have the honor to request you again to submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives the following item of appropriation: To enable this Government to continue its efforts to mitigate if not entirely stamp out the opium, morphine, and other allied drug evils by further investigations and proceedings and through another international conference, to make effective the results heretofore accomplished, twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of State. I have the honor to transmit herewith copies of Senate Document No. 733, Sixty-second Congress, second session; of House Document No. 861 of the same Congress, and of your letter of July 10 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. I have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient servant, P. C. KNOX. NOTE.-The Netherlands Government on December 31, 1912, prepared a table showing the dates of signature of the "Protocol of signature of the powers not represented at the conference," as far as such signing had progressed up to and including December 31, 1912, as follows: Costa Rica, April 25; Mexico, May 15; Guatemala, June 17; Belgium (with reservation as to the Belgian Congo), June 18; Luxemburg, June 18; Panama, June 19; Ecuador, July 2; Honduras, July 5; Salvador, July 30; Haiti, August 21; Venezuela, September 10; Brazil, October 16; Argentina, October 17; Spain, October 23; Dominican Republic, November 12; Paraguay, December 14; Denmark, December 17. (File No. 511.4A1/1355.) COLOMBIA. MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT, DON CARLOS E. RESTOEPO, TO THE CONGRESS, JULY 20, 1912. File No. 821.032. The American Chargé d'Affaires to the Secretary of State. [Extract.] AMERICAN LEGATION, No. 81.] SIR: I have the honor to enclose herewith in duplicate copies of the Presidential Message to the Congress of 1912, together with translations of that part of the message pertaining to foreign affairs. I have [etc.] LELAND HARRISON. [Inclosure.-Extract.-Translation.] Diplomatic relations with the United States have been cordially maintained since the incident that resulted in the change of the minister at Washington,' and there is reason to hope that the present sympathy for the cause of Colombia in the United States will have as its natural outcome a just and honorable arrangement of the differences which today unhappily exist between the two nations by reason of the separation of Panamá. CLAIM OF GONZALO RAMOS RUIZ v. THE UNITED STATES. File No. 411.21 R85/11. No. 37.] The American Minister to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Department despatch No. 7 dated December 29, 1911,2 relating to the claim of Señor Ramos Ruiz for damages said to have been sustained by his house and furniture while occupied as the American Legation by Minister Charles Burdett Hart about ten years ago. Immediately on receiving the despatch I obtained an interview with Mr. Ruiz in the Legation, and he said his claim was for over seven hundred dollars. Shortly after this interview his wife died and I refrained from further communication with him owing to his 1 General Pedro Nel Ospina resigned February 21, 1912; the new minister, Señor don Julio Betancourt, was received July 25, 1912. 2 Not printed. complete prostration. A few days since he called at the Legation and said that he was very feeble, and the claim had been so long under consideration he would give a receipt in full upon payment of $400, which according to Mr. Hibbin's No. 219, dated January 1, 1909, the Foreign Minister had mentioned as the basis of settlement. Mr. Ruiz is feeble and desires an early settlement, and has requested that if possible the amount $400 should be paid through this Legation. As the claim is from all I can learn a just one and the amount demanded reasonable, and as the existence of this claim militates against the prestige of this Legation, I earnestly recommend the payment of the $100 which Mr. Ruiz now offers to accept in full liquidation of his claim. I have [etc.] JAMES T. DUBOIS. The Acting Secretary of State to the American Minister. [Telegram.-Paraphrase.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, August 28, 1912. Ruiz matter, your dispatch No. 37. You will draw on the Secretary of State $400 and pay Ruiz in full settlement of his claim. When you make the payment point out to the Foreign Office that there is no legal liability attaching to this Government in the matter. but in view of all the circumstances the payment is made as an act of grace. WILSON. COSTA RICA. MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT, DON RICARDO JIMÉNEZ, TO THE CONGRESS, MAY 1, 1912.1 [Extract-Translation.] At the beginning of March we were the object, on the part of the Government of the United States of America, of a mark of great distinction. Its Secretary of State, His Excellency Mr. Ph. C. Knox, made us a visit of courtesy and friendship. His affability, the cordiality of his words, the satisfaction given by his speeches and the direct knowledge that he now possesses of ourselves and our conditions will guarantee the frank relations of the two Governments and the permanence of the close relations that have been constant in the past and will be more closely woven in the future, with the opening of the Panama Canal. NATURALIZATION CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND COSTA RICA, Signed at San José, June 10, 1911; ratification advised by the Senate, February 14, 1912; ratified by the President, March 29, 1912; ratified by Costa Rica, August 5, 1911; ratifications exchanged at San José, May 9, 1912; proclaimed, June 6, 1912. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas a Naturalization Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica was concluded and signed by their respective Plenipotentiaries at San José on the 10th day of June one thousand nine hundred and eleven, the original of which Convention, being in the English and Spanish languages is word for word as follows: Convention to fix the condition of naturalized citizens who renew their residence in country of their origin The President of the United States of America and the President of the Republic of Costa Rica, desiring to regulate the citizenship of those persons who emigrate from the United States of America to Costa Rica and from Costa Rica to the United States of America, have resolved to conclude a convention on this subject and for that purpose have appointed their plenipotentiaries to conclude a convention, that is to say: the President of the United States of America, G. L. Monroe Jr., Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of the United States 1 Transmitted by the American Chargé d'Affaires May 16 with dispatch No. 25. |