Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1934, General, the British Commonwealth, Volume I

811.113 Senate Investigation/27

The Secretary of State to the Mexican Ambassador (González Roa)

Washington, September 17, 1934.

Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s note of September 14, 1934, and I note with deep regret that Your Excellency considers certain statements made in the course of recent hearings of the Special Committee of the Senate Investigating the Munitions Industry to be offensive to your country and, in particular, to the highly esteemed President of the Republic.²⁷

Although the Executive Branch of this Government has no control over a Legislative investigation of the traffic in munitions, it is my understanding that in the course of its hearings the Committee desires to avoid in every possible way the giving of offense to any Government²⁸ or to its officials.

I enclose a copy of a letter of September 11, 1934, which I have received from Senator Gerald P. Nye, Chairman of the Committee, and which has been given to the press in order to clear up any false impressions which may have been created as a result of references to officials of foreign governments in the course of the hearings. Simultaneously with the publication of Senator Nye’s letter, I issued a statement on this subject for the press, of which I enclose a copy.²⁹

Again assuring you of my profound regret that through misapprehension inferences offensive to Mexico or to the President of the United Mexican States may have been drawn from statements made in the course of the hearings of the Committee, I avail myself [etc.]

Cordell Hull

[Enclosure 1]^29a

The Chairman of the Special Committee Investigating the Munitions Industry (Nye) to the Secretary of State

Washington, September 11, 1934.

My Dear Mr. Secretary: Reports have reached the Committee showing a misconception as to the nature of some of the allegations which have been introduced into the record of the Special Committee Investigating the Munitions Industry as exhibits. We have been endeavoring to find the truth in a mass of documents found in the files of Munitions manufacturers. The placing of such material in the record from foreign agents of American companies does not necessarily imply the substantiation of the statements found in these agent’s documents. There has been mention of highly placed personages in foreign countries. The Committee deeply regrets that a false impression may have been created, and that statements made by manufacturer’s agents abroad, although believed by them, may be unfounded as far as those high personages are concerned, and the Committee regrets that the opinions of these agents seem to have been construed as necessarily reflecting the opinion of the Committee.

Very sincerely yours,

Gerald P. Nye

[Enclosure 2]^29a

Statement by the Secretary of State Issued to the Press on September 11, 1934

I spent an hour or two to-day in conference with the Senate Munitions Investigation Committee, during which a number of phases of the work in hand were discussed in a cooperative spirit.

The letter handed to me by Chairman Nye of the Committee well illustrates both the righteous nature of the investigation of the munitions situation, and some of the manifold difficulties that must be dealt with by the Committee. The Committee is consistently pursuing its single objective of exposing vast and unimagined abuses in the munition trade, with a view to remedial action, either by legislation or otherwise.

Naturally, it was not in the mind of the Committee nor of any official of the American Government to give the slightest offense to any other Government or its officials.

27. Gen. Lazaro Cárdenas.
28. Representations were made by seven foreign Governments; all but those of Chile and Venezuela are herein printed.
29. The texts of these two documents were also sent to the Governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Great Britain, Paraguay, Peru, Turkey, and Venezuela.
30. Filed separately under 811.113 Senate Investigation/23.
31. Filed separately under 811.113 Senate Investigation/23.