[Enclosure]
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under
Secretary of State (Welles)
[Washington,] December 18,
1941.
The Canadian Chargé d’Affaires called to see me this morning.
Mr. Wrong stated that he had been talking this morning on the
telephone to the Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, in connection with
the statement I had made to Mr. Wrong yesterday on behalf of the
President with regard to the suggestion that Canada might
participate in the consultative meeting of the Foreign Ministers of
the American Republics to be held in Rio de Janeiro on January 15
next.
Mr. Mackenzie King desired that the President be informed that he
fully appreciated the validity of the reasons advanced by the
President for believing that it was impossible, under existing
inter-American agreements, for Canada to take part in that meeting;
that he greatly appreciated the frankness and the friendly nature of
the President’s message; and that he felt sure that the President
would understand that, in following up the initiative taken by the
Dominican Government, the Canadian Government believed it was
adopting a policy which would be helpful to the United States in its
relations with the other American Republics.
I said to Mr. Wrong that I should be very glad to transmit this
message to the President. I added that I felt sure it was
unnecessary for me to say anything further with regard to the
President’s desire to cooperate in every way possible with Canada
since the President
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had
made this policy so clear on repeated occasions during the past nine
years. I said that in accordance with the President’s wishes I would
consult the representatives of the other American Republics, who
would meet in Rio de Janeiro, in an unofficial way in order to find
out what their feeling might be with regard to the participation by
Canada in the regular Pan American conference which would take place
in 1943.
Mr. Wrong then said that he felt it was desirable for this Government
to know that, in the event the other American Republics desired
Canada to participate in any inter-American conference as a member
of the Pan American Union, the Government of Canada would be glad to
do so.
I replied that I should be very glad to communicate this information
to the President.
