812.5018/57a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Mexico (Messersmith)
1734. At a meeting this afternoon the Commodity Credit advised Ambassador del Rio55 that there would be made available to Mexico, as a stopgap, 5,000 tons of corn at Kansas City and St. Louis to be shipped in accordance with del Rio’s instructions i.e., 2,500 for shipment by sea from New Orleans originating at St. Louis at $1.0875 and 2,500 tons for rail shipment originating at Kansas City at $1.0475. In exchange, del Rio promised that his Government would do everything possible to deliver at border points from El Paso west vegetable meal on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Commodity Credit then stated that the vegetable meal prices should be per short ton, cottonseed meal, $42 bulk and $45 bag; flax seed meal $38 bulk and $41 bag; sesame meal $44 bulk and $47 bag. Commodity Credit pointed out that the two first were based on ceiling prices while the sesame is based on a “fair price”, there being no ceiling. It was pointed out to del Rio that the degree of success of the Mexican efforts to obtain this vegetable meal for grain feed for cattle in the west would be an important factor in Commodity Credit’s ability to get other corn from the back country as the 5,000 tons now being made available are all that Commodity Credit can now afford. In other words, subject to transportation limitations in the movement of corn, Commodity Credit will continue to make corn available in the dollar equivalent amount of vegetable meal delivered at points west of El Paso.
It was also emphasized that the transportation factor was of the utmost importance and that it would be necessary to move the box cars back out of Mexico on an extremely urgent basis.
Del Rio indicated that he would have C. B. Fox and Company, New Orleans, telephone Commodity Credit immediately regarding the final arrangements for the corn.
[Page 438]It will be noted that Commodity Credit is accepting, in exchange for this corn, the promise of del Rio his Government would do everything possible to make the vegetable meal available.
Del Rio will presumably report back to his President immediately and this information is furnished you for your background only.
The Department desires also to point out that the action of Commodity Credit in obtaining this promise from del Rio is for the purpose of defending its making this corn available to Mexico, Corn is in urgent demand throughout the west particularly for dairy and poultry use and there would otherwise be marked criticism levied against this action.
The Department will appreciate your views as to the probable success of this arrangement as a solution of Mexico’s current corn problem.
- Francisco del Rio Canedo.↩