632.6231/165: Telegram
The Chargé in Brazil (Scotten) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:43 p.m.]
60. Embassy’s telegram 59. Subsequent to the conversations reported in the telegram under reference Boucas telephoned me and asked my impression of the conversation with the Minister of Finance. I replied that I was extremely disappointed with that conversation. I did this designedly both because it was true [apparent omission] I was convinced that my remarks would be repeated by Boucas to the Minister of Finance.
This afternoon Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs asked me to see him. He stated that Boucas had in fact repeated my impressions to the Minister of Finance and that this had had a most “salutary effect”. He added that apparently the Minister of Finance has at last awakened to the realization that he must give this question serious consideration and study. He added that the Minister of Finance had had a long conversation by telephone with Aranha22 last night and the two had had a heated discussion, Aranha urging that the Minister of Finance do something along the lines we suggested, et cetera. The net result is that the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs is somewhat more hopeful than yesterday but he urged us in all earnestness to adopt a firm attitude as he felt that the Minister of Finance had until now been seeking not to meet our views but a way to avoid meeting them. This afternoon Boucas informed me that in the telephone conversation last evening between Aranha and the Minister the former urged the latter to come to the United States this month. The Minister is apparently toying with the idea. I feel that it would be an excellent step were the Minister to go to Washington as it would remove him from the insidious influences to which he is especially susceptible and which are working here against American and in favor of German interests and would enable us to present our point of view more forcibly and more fully than can be done here. … I feel further that in any event pressure for a favorable decision on the compensation mark question should be exerted unrelentingly and [Page 330] that he should under no circumstances be allowed to use the 3 months period merely to put off consideration of the question.
- Oswaldo Aranha, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States.↩