Office of the Historian

800.85/249a Suppl.: Circular telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to Chiefs of Mission in Certain American Republics16

Washington, July 5, 1941—9 p.m.

Department’s circular telegram of June 24, noon, regarding plan for placing inactive foreign registry vessels into service. The special subcommittee of the Inter-American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee is awaiting instructions to the individual delegates before proceeding to act on the plan quoted in the telegram under reference. Please, in your discretion, discuss the matter informally with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urging prompt action on the plan in view of the critical shipping situation, the only possible alleviation of which may come through the placing into service of the inactive ships lying in ports of the American republics.

Welles
  1. Sent to Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Cuba.↩