NAVY DEPARTMENT
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
WASHINGTON
 
                             April 4, 1942
 
MEMORADUM TO THE PRESIDENT
 
 
                             Subject:            Galapages - Permanent United States Air Base,
                                                                and Pan-American Wild-Life Park.
 
     Vice-Admiral Horne and Lieutenant-General Andrews
and other senior Army and Navy officers with whom I have discussed the subject are strongly of
the opinion that under no circumstances should our government relinquish our air base in the
Galapagos upon the termination of the war ("Free Men's War" or "War of Free Men"?). The
reasons are crystal clear-- in this new era of aviation, the Galapages are the veritable keystone of
the outer defenses in the Pacific of the Panama Canal.
 
     This objective should be achieved without doing violence to the Good Meighbor Policy. If
at any time in the near future conditions should develop under which we could purchase the entire
Archipelago or make a long term lease for our air bases or bases, we should not hesitate to seize
the opportunity. But in view of existing political conditions in Ecuador and the troublesome
traditions that have grown up concerning this issue in that country, it is likely that a new formula
will have to be found that does not appear to involve a permanent surrender of sovereignty to us.
 
The Liberal, pro-American administration of Dr. Carlos Arroyo Del Rio, President of Ecuador
since 1940, is under severe criticism from the Conservative party, which numbers among its
strongest supporters the Clergy, and Falangists, and other eler, ents of varying degrees of
pro-Axis sympathies. The President is charged with surrender of Ecuador's territory and future
greatness in his acceptance of the terms of the Rio settlement of the Peruvian border dispute. He
is also being charged with making a secret surrender of Ecuadorean sovereignty in granting us
military bases in Ecuadorean territory His Foreign Minister (a Conservative), Dr. Tobar Doneso,
has justtendered his resignation.