812.659/50
President Roosevelt to the President of Mexico (Avila Camacho)51
My Dear Mr. President: I am writing you because I believe that a splendid opportunity has arisen for me to apply the general principles of friendly cooperation which we discussed during our meeting at Monterrey.52 I have been told that your Government has again moved forward to implement the Rio de Janeiro and Washington Resolutions53 by vesting the enemy-owned chemical and pharmaceutical companies in Mexico. I understand that you plan to use these companies in connection with a program which is directed at the development of a nationalized drug and chemical industry, the expansion of your own domestic production, and the training of Mexicans to run that industry independently. I understand further that we in the United States, by furnishing certain management skills, technical services and supplies, could make a definite contribution to the success of this project. I am anxious to extend all possible assistance to your program because I consider it to be of great importance both to the economy of Mexico and the security of this hemisphere.
Mr. Leo Crowley, our Alien Property Custodian, has expressed to me his desire to place the facilities of his companies at your disposal. He has described to me a program involving the use of those facilities, which, he believes, could make a solid contribution to the success of [Page 510] your plans. I too believe that he could be of real service. I have accordingly asked Ambassador Messersmith to present Mr. Crowley’s proposal to the appropriate members of your Government.
I have emphasized to Mr. Crowley that I wish him to be prepared to extend his fullest cooperation to you in the achievement of your objectives. Moreover, I have instructed him that the companies under his custody are to be used in the broad interests of your general program. You will appreciate that I am not in a position to issue such an instruction to a private American corporation.
I fully recognize that arrangements for the management and development of the Mexican chemical industry are matters for your determination. I wish merely to emphasize my belief that the Alien Property Custodian, because of the status of his companies as publicly-owned corporations, could effectively promote the welfare of the Mexican industry. Accordingly, I hope that you will consider the proposal of the Alien Property Custodian before reaching any final decision in the matter.
I am communicating with you in this personal way rather than through official channels because I am confident that in matters of this kind you would agree with me that it is more helpful to us both to communicate with one another in this direct and personal manner.
May I say again how much I valued the conversations I had with you during our recent meetings and how truly beneficial I feel they have been to me. I am looking forward to carrying out the plans you were kind enough to suggest to me and I hope that I may therefore have the opportunity of seeing you again before many months have passed.
With the assurances of my highest consideration and of my warm personal regard, believe me
Yours very sincerely,
- A notation on the file copy indicates that this message was signed by the President and mailed via diplomatic pouch on June 24, 1943.↩
- For correspondence concerning this visit, see pp. 417 ff.↩
- For text of the resolutions of the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the American Republics, held at Rio de Janeiro, January 15–28, 1942, see Department of State Bulletin, February 7, 1942, pp. 117–141. For correspondence concerning this Conference, see Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. v, pp. 6 ff. For text of the resolutions of the Conference held at Washington June 30–July 10, 1942, see Pan American Union, Congress and Conference Series No. 39: Final Act of the Inter-American Conference on Systems of Economic and Financial Control (Washington, 1942). For correspondence concerning this Conference, see Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. v, pp. 58 ff.↩