562.22A1/76
Memorandum by Mr. John H. Lord of the Division of Protocol and Conferences
Diplomatic Conference for the Standardization of the Keeping and Operation of Herdbooks
Delegate: J. Clyde Marquis, of Indiana, American Member of the Permanent Committee, International Institute of Agriculture, Rome, Italy.
The following countries were represented by delegates with full powers to sign a convention for the standardization of the keeping and operation of herdbooks: Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France,2 Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Poland, Rumania, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States and Yugoslavia.
The convention was signed by Mr. Marquis3 on behalf of the United States, including Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands.
The official French text of the convention is on file in the Departments of State and Agriculture, together with an unofficial English translation4 prepared by a committee at the International Institute of Agriculture.
[On April 24, 1937, the Department of State requested advice from the Department of Agriculture regarding the submission of the convention [Page 627] to the President and the Senate with a view to its ratification (562.22 A 1/83).
The Department of State was informed on June 8, 1937, by the Acting Secretary of Agriculture that this Government had no legal jurisdiction over the herdbooks in the United States maintained and operated by the various breed associations; that acceptance and ratification of the convention by the United States would have no binding effect upon the breed associations unless legislation were subsequently enacted to give effect in the United States to the object sought, namely, the requirement of uniformity in keeping and operating herdbooks; and that the Department of Agriculture would be reluctant to suggest the proposal in question unless generally endorsed by the breed associations.
The letter from the Acting Secretary of Agriculture also stated that that Department had no interest in the matter “except from the standpoint that approved herdbooks of foreign countries are relied upon for identification purposes in connection with the issuance of certificates certifying to the pure breeding of animals imported into this country for breeding purposes, in order that such animals may be entered free of duty.” (562.22 A 1/85).]