Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The American Republics, Volume V

740.00111A.R.–N.C./114

The American Member of the Inter-American Neutrality Committee (Fenwick) to the Under Secretary of State (Welles)

Rio de Janeiro, June 4, 1940.
[Received June 24.]

Dear Mr. Welles: Our Neutrality Committee has completed a recommendation on the subject of postal correspondence⁸⁴ and an official text has been forwarded to the Pan American Union.⁸⁵

The recommendation is about the best that could be made under the circumstances, but it can not be said to be of much intrinsic value. All that we could do after long consultations was to reaffirm the principles of the Hague Convention, and then offer a few suggestions of a practical character. My earlier proposal, based upon Secretary Lansing’s position during the World War, was withdrawn when the Department expressed its opposition to it; but in any case it would not have been acceptable to certain members who felt that it conceded too much to the belligerents. …

All of our remaining problems are on the way to final solution; but you can realize that none of them seem of much importance in the presence of the tragic events in Europe.

[Here follows information regarding Mr. Fenwick’s private writings on neutrality.]

With warm personal regards,

Sincerely yours,

Charles G. Fenwick

84. Printed in Special Handbook prepared by the Pan American Union, Appendix D, pp. 43 ff.
85. Copies were transmitted to the Department with letter of July 3 from the Director of the Pan American Union, not printed.