852.48 Relief/4
The Secretary of State to Representative Jerry J. O’Connell
My Dear Mr. O’Connell: I have received and given very careful attention to the letter of May 5th,79 in which you, together with Representatives Coffee, Teigan and Bernard, urge that the President of the United States declare that Italy and Germany are waging war against Spain and that, therefore, the provisions of the neutrality laws of the United States with regard to the export of arms, ammunition and implements of war shall be applied to these countries. The question you raise is virtually the same as that raised some days ago by a Senate Resolution80 which after being variously commented on is still pending in the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
The State Department in its comment at that time81 referred to the speech of Senator Pittman in the Senate82 as containing a reasonably accurate exposition of the matter.
With regard to the last two paragraphs of your letter concerning your fears that the provisions of Section 3 of the Joint Resolution of Congress approved May 1, 1937, will result in the placing of arbitrary restrictions upon Americans who desire to send medical aid, food and clothing to the people of Spain, I enclose a copy of the rules which in accordance with the Joint Resolution I promulgated on May 5, 1937, for the regulation of the solicitation and collection of contributions for use in Spain.83 You will note that these regulations have [Page 295] been so drawn that they will not in any way prevent those Americans who desire to relieve human suffering in Spain from continuing to do so in all such ways as are permissible under the law.
Sincerely yours,