810.154/3073

The Secretary of State to the Secretary of War ( Stimson )

My Dear Mr. Secretary: I have received your letter of September 10,22 in which you inform me of the War Department’s decision that there is no further strategic necessity for the construction of the pioneer highway, and that the War Department in consequence wishes [Page 84] this Department’s recommendations for the termination in as expeditious a manner as possible of War Department participation in the construction of the highway.

The international implications of this decision are, as you indicate, important. In presenting the pioneer highway project to the respective countries which it was to traverse, certain facilities were obtained from these countries. Much popular interest was aroused in the plan for the expeditious construction of the highway. In making plans for the withdrawal of the War Department from this highway project, it would therefore seem imperative not only that the possible disruptive effects of this move on the economies of the respective countries be fully taken into account, but also that any prejudicial effects on our prestige and on our relations with those countries be mitigated to the greatest possible extent. I have, consequently, been gratified to learn that in the orders which have been transmitted to the Director of the Highway Project to prepare plans for this withdrawal, emphasis has been placed on the necessity for the orderly termination of the project and for particular consideration to be given to its effects on our relations with the Central American countries. The courtesy of the pertinent officials of the War Department in communicating the texts of these orders informally to this Department is greatly appreciated.

I am pleased to note the views of the War Department regarding the continuation of the permanent highway project, and am confident that both the Department and the Public Roads Administration can count upon the War Department’s collaboration in this connection. I believe that if conferences are immediately held between representatives of the War Department and the Public Roads Administration, they would be helpful both in facilitating the War Department’s objectives and in aiding the Administration to carry out the permanent project in the most efficient and economical manner. This course would also further our joint purpose of effecting the withdrawal in the most orderly and harmonious fashion possible.

The Department is, of course, not in a position to make very specific recommendations in the absence of more complete factual data. An informal request for such data has already been transmitted to the War Department, and will doubtless be answered at the earliest possible moment. As soon as this information has been received, this Department will be pleased to discuss the matter further with the War Department and the other interested Governments, and to make the specific recommendations which you were so kind as to request.

Sincerely yours,

Cordell Hull
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