File No. 561.14A12/2a
[Untitled]
Washington , April 7, 1917 .
To the Diplomatic Officers of the United States
Gentlemen: Pursuant to a provision contained in the Agricultural Appropriation Act, approved March 4, 1917, you will extend to the Governments to which you are respectively accredited an invitation to “appoint delegates or representatives to the International Farm Congress to be held at Peoria, Illinois,” during the fiscal year 1918.
At this Congress there will be discussed farming methods and apparatus for tilling, planting and harvesting, the care of orchards, the raising of cattle and live stock, and other subjects looking to better facilities and results to the farmer, particularly in regions having light or irregular rainfall, and the teaching of conservation of moisture through scientific methods.
In extending the invitation and expressing the hope that the invited Governments may deem it of advantage to be represented at the Congress, you will explain that, while the invitation is extended by the authority of the Congress of the United States, the International Farm Congress will not be held under Government auspices and that no provision has been made by the Congress of the United States for the payment of the expenses of the foreign representatives who may attend, or for their entertainment.
In connection with the International Farm Congress there will be held the International Soil Products Exposition, at which the Department of Agriculture of the United States will make an exhibit illustrative of the investigation, products, and processes relating to farming in the sub-humid, arid, and semi-arid regions of the United States.
Participation in this Exposition by the Nations of the world will be welcomed by the management of the International Farm Congress.
I am [etc.]