840.48 Refugees/2741
The Under Secretary of State ( Welles ) to President Roosevelt
My Dear Mr. President: I refer to your memorandum of October 2521 with which you enclosed a letter sent to you by Justice Rosenman22 asking that you send to Mr. James N”. Rosenberg a letter expressing your warm approval of the refugee settlement work undertaken in Sosua in the Dominican Republic. Justice Rosenman enclosed with his letter to you a draft letter for your signature21 and in the last paragraph of his letter to you suggested that if you were willing to write such a letter, it be mailed to him by Miss Tully,23
I am fully in accord with the suggestion made to you by Justice Rosenman. From every report we have, the work carried on at Sosua under the auspices of Mr. Rosenberg and his associates has resulted in a practical demonstration of what the resettlement of refugees, when carried on in an efficient manner and with proper financing as well as with favorable local conditions, can really accomplish. It is, I regret to say, the only resettlement work that has been undertaken and pushed ahead with energy and with enthusiasm. In my judgment it deserves every encouragement as a heartening example of the kind of work you had in mind when the Intergovernmental Committee was constituted upon your suggestion.
For this reason I have merely had copied on White House paper the draft letter to Mr. Rosenberg suggested by Justice Rosenman, and I am returning it to you herewith for your signature if you approve.
Believe me
Faithfully yours,