810.79611 Pan American Airways, Inc./583: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Chile (Culbertson)
90. Information has reached the Department that the Chilean Director of Aviation has been publishing newspaper statements that the air mail contracts of the United States were designed to build up reserve military pilots and to establish a branch easily transformable to military purposes. It is stated that the opposition of the Chilean Director of Aviation to American aviation interests has been evident in other ways, but this latest report, if well founded, is the first indication that he openly questions the good faith of the United States. Please investigate the matter and report whether you feel you should be authorized to say informally to the Foreign Minister that the Department has learned with regret that an important Chilean official is circulating such rumors, which have no foundation in fact and which are obviously prejudicial to legitimate American interests.