611.2531/306
The Ambassador in Chile (Armour) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 6.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to despatch No. 56 of May 20, 193844 with regard to an informal conference held at the Embassy on the Chilean-American exchange situation, and to the promise given at that time by the Under Secretary of Commerce, Señor Desiderio García, that a memorandum reviewing the Chilean position on the problems discussed would be prepared. There are enclosed herewith [Page 450] a personal letter and an accompanying memorandum dated August 27, 193845 and delivered on August 29, 1938 in compliance with Señor García’s promise. The memorandum constitutes the first general exposition of the Chilean point of view which has been presented since the similar one dated July 11, 1936 forwarded with despatch No. 261 on July 15, 1936.46 It contains little new material, but rehearses quite fully the various factual elements deemed important by the Chilean Government, together with the attitude held respecting them.
Basically the Under Secretary of Commerce appeals very earnestly once more for an appreciation of the difficulties of the Chilean position. The memorandum expresses the belief “that a commercial treaty between the two nations should be in the nature of a practical and permanent bond which would permit the development of an economic interchange to mutual advantage;” and concludes with a cordial offer to afford hearty cooperation in making available information or in conducting joint studies. While the general emphasis is upon ways and means for obviating the scarcity of American exchange, Señor García and his assistants have repeatedly expressed in conversations their earnest hope that the commercial agreement may be attained.
The transmitting letter, it will be noted, refers once more to the suggestion made to me by don Germán Vergara, the Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, as mentioned in the memorandum enclosed with my despatch No. 96 of June 11, 1938,45 to the effect that the exchange clause be omitted from the text of the commercial agreement itself, and be treated in a separate protocol.
Further comments as to the enclosures with the present despatch will be submitted in the near future, together with any further information that may be forthcoming in talks with officials of the Foreign Office which it is anticipated will take place in the next few days. In the meantime, however, I have thought it well to place the enclosures in the hands of the Department as promptly as possible.
Respectfully yours,
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- Foreign Relations, 1936, vol. v, p. 355.↩
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