Page 310

310 FOREIGN RELATIONS. Not printed. 
provisions of law 1 relating to insalubrious lands under which the concession
is made clearly contemplate low lands and swamps in in habited regions where
they are a menace to public health, while this vast swamp has barely a handful
of inhabitants who are engaged in exploiting its natural resources and it
has never been regarded as a menace to the health of the distant settlen'ients
any more than are the rice fields and salt marshes of our own South Atlantic
and Gulf States. 
The concluding article of the decree of concession provides that— Within
thirty days from the date of publication in the Gaceta Oficiai, the 
concessionaire shall notify the Department of Public ' Works of the conces
sionaire's conformitS with the provisions of this decree; whereupon that
De partnient shall proceed to execute the appropriate instrument or act of
con cession. * * * 
 Until the execution of tile instrument prescribed in the quoted pro vision,
the concession does not become effective; and therefore there is still sufficient
time in which to procure tile suspension or revocation of the concession.
Public opinion here is negligible, and only those people who have something
at stake (who may be. bought off in the meantime) will pay any attention
to the matter after the first ex citement subsides and the newspapers, appropriately
"silenced", cease their attacks. It is not likely that anything will come
of the Congressional investigation, even if the motion calling for it is
carried. 
 Therefore the only apparent way to stop this * * * is for us to enter without
delay an emphatic protest that will leave no doubt as to our disauthorization
of the measure; unofficial rep resentations of a lukewarm charact.er demanding
no specific action might be disregarded. * * * Various promoters have, I
under stand, for many years sought this concession, former petitions hav
ing been summarily dismissed by the Wood, Palma and Magoon administrations,
and now that the present pron'ioters have it almost in their grasp a determined
stand is necessary in order to dislodgq them. 
 Our objections might appropriately be predicated upon the gen eral principle
of our interest in the finances of Cuba as affected by the alienation of
natural resources for inadequate consideratiofi. and upon Article V of the
Platt Amendment regarding sanitary plans. If in the exercise of our rights
under Art. V we insisted upon a thorough and comprehensive reclamation of
the land with rigid stipulations as to the amount of work to be done each
year— reducing the exploitation of natural resources to an incidental
op portunity, rather than as it now is, the main object of the conces sion—the
project would, I am convinced, inevitably fall through. 
 Our objections, if any, should be embodied in a note to President Gómez,
and in order to be timely should be presented as soon as possible. I therefore
respectfully recommend that I be instructed by telegraph. 
I have [etc.] 
A. M. BEAUPR1i.