561.333D3/24

The President of the Third Pan American Coffee Conference (Mejía) to the Chairman of the Inter-American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee (Welles)

[Translation]

Dear Sir: The Third Pan-American Coffee Conference, profoundly alarmed by the fall in the prices of the product and by the possibility of the prolongation of the European war, which automatically deprives those coffees produced in other continents of their usual markets, tending to divert them to the American market in a quantity of approximately three million bags, respectfully requests of your Committee, through you, that it consult with the Government of the United States as to whether that Government would be in a position to cooperate with this Conference in the regularization of the imports of coffee into the United States market, avoiding increase in imports of non-American coffees.

I urge that you express to the Committee that the Conference believes of fundamental importance for the continuation of its work an indication of the possibility of this cooperation, which would permit the negotiation of agreements tending to improve the economic situation and consequently the purchasing power of the American nations which produce coffee.

Yours [etc.]

Manuel Mejía