550.S1/1192: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chairman of the American Delegation (Hull)
176. For Hull from the President. Please convey the following to Prime Minister MacDonald as a message from me. You and he can [Page 735] decide as to whether it should be made public or not. No publicity will be given from here.
“Before the recess of the Conference I want you to know of my sincere admiration and respect for your courage and your patience as its presiding officer. I feel that because of it the nations of the world can continue to discuss mutual problems with frankness and without rancor. Results are not always measured in terms of formal agreements. They can come equally from the free presentation of each nation’s difficulties and each nation’s methods to meet its individual needs. We in the United States understand the problems of other nations better today than before the Conference met and we trust that the other nations will in the same spirit of good will view our American policies which are aimed to overcome an unprecedented economic situation at home.
Such interchange, especially if it results in full discussion of all problems and not a few only makes progress more and not less possible in the future.
That is why I do not regard the Economic Conference as a failure. Largely because of your tact and perseverance the larger and more permanent problems will continue to be analyzed and discussed. You recognize with me that new adjustments are necessary to meet world and national conditions which have never existed before in history. You can count on our continued efforts towards world rehabilitation because we are convinced that a continuation of the work of the World Economic Conference will result in practical good in many fields of joint endeavor. Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
- Roosevelt
- Phillips