816.24/116
Mr. Emilio G. Collado, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State ( Welles ), to the Liaison Officer ( Wilson )
Mr. Wilson: I have had a further extensive conversation with Mr. Bustamante, the Under Secretary of Finance of El Salvador, who is here negotiating on military purchases. He stated that he is personally recommending the acceptance of our revised form of basic agreement, [Page 311] a copy of which is attached4 for your information. He raised a question which he stated that he had mentioned to you and Mr. Young,5 that is, the increase from $1,550,000 to $1,640,000 in the total. I discussed this at some length with Mr. Bustamante and others and have reached the conclusion that it would be very desirable for us to request the War Department to agree to these small increases. We have some funds available; the Government of El Salvador has obviously made a very careful analysis of its needs and is proceeding on a very business-like basis, and in a number of other requests we are having favorable business arrangements with Mr. Bustamante. I believe from every point of view it would be helpful if we could accede to this small request. I hope consequently that you will feel it possible to take the matter up at once with the War Department and attempt to get their approval within a few days since Mr. Bustamante must and is anxious to get the approval of his Government before signing the basic agreement.
- Not attached to file copy; for text of earlier form of basic agreement, see enclosure to letter of June 28, 1941, from the Under Secretary of State to President Roosevelt, vol. vi, p. 138.↩
- Presumably Philip Young, Assistant Deputy Administrator of the Office of Lend-Lease Administration.↩