852.111/190
The Minister in Portugal (Fish) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 2.]
Sir: I have the honor to inform the Department that Mr. Paul H. Appleby, Under Secretary of Agriculture, and Mr. E. M. Evans, Director of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, arrived in Lisbon on September 17 from London with the intention of proceeding to Spain and Unoccupied France for the purpose of making a study of agricultural and economic conditions in those two countries.
[Page 922]Mr. Appleby informed the Legation that he and Mr. Evans had made application for Spanish visas on September 12 through the American Embassy in London and that the Spanish Embassy in London had referred their application to the Spanish Foreign Office with the request that the latter authorize the issuance of the visas in Lisbon. Mr. Appleby and Mr. Evans visited the Legation on September 18 and the Legation communicated immediately with the Spanish Embassy here. The latter advised the Legation that no authorization for the visas had been received and accordingly the Embassy in Madrid was immediately informed by telephone and was asked to support their application at the Foreign Office. Later in the day the Spanish Foreign Office advised the Madrid Embassy, which in turn informed this Legation, that it was aware of the application of these individuals but that before it could issue instructions to the Spanish Embassy at Lisbon authorizing the visas it required information concerning the motives for their travel to Spain.
As a result of this information a note was addressed by the Legation to the Spanish Embassy on September 18 (a copy of which is enclosed37) and on the following day the Embassy at Madrid was also advised of the motives of their visit and was requested to communicate directly with the Foreign Office on this subject. The Madrid Embassy was again informed that this was an urgent matter since Messrs. Appleby and Evans held reservations on the Clipper scheduled to depart from Lisbon on September 27 and that although, due to lack of time, they would probably not be able to visit France, they were still anxious to proceed to Madrid and Barcelona before returning to the United States.
Although the Legation has since communicated many times with the Spanish Embassy in Lisbon and the American Embassy at Madrid the authorization for these two visas has not been forthcoming, and accordingly Messrs. Appleby and Evans have given up their proposed visit to Spain and will return to the United States by the first available Clipper.
It is believed that this information will be of interest to the Department as reflecting the attitude of the Spanish authorities toward the United States and American Government officials. Every effort was made both by this Legation and by the Embassy at Madrid to obtain the necessary authorization from the Spanish Foreign Office for the issuance of these visas, and it can only be inferred that the Spanish Government’s delay in making a decision in this case was deliberate and that it had no intention of authorizing the visit to Spain of the persons in question.
Respectfully yours,
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