Office of the Historian

812.659/87

The Ambassador in Mexico (Messersmith) to the Under Secretary of State (Welles)

México, D. F., July 7, 1943.

Dear Sumner: I have to refer to my letter of June 2856 with regard to the proposed means of collaboration suggested by the Alien Property Custodian on the part of our Government with the Mexican Government in the reorganization of the former German chemical and pharmaceutical firms in Mexico. I felt that I should bring to your attention and to that of the President, the thoughts which I expressed in my letter of June 28. I now have the Department’s telegram No. 1078, of July 2, 9 p.m., to the effect that this matter has been discussed with the President and that he desires me to deliver the letter to President Avila Camacho and to forward the note57 suggested by the Department.

I have accordingly taken the appropriate steps, as you will note from the appended despatch.58 I am of course deferring to the opinion of the President and of the Department in this matter and I presented the matter in the most effective and I am sure the most [Page 514] acceptable manner possible this morning to both Dr. Padilla and to the Under Secretary, Mr. Torres Bodet. They were very reserved in their attitude, as I felt they were sure to be, but I presented the matter in the most effective manner possible and I feel that they will at least be prepared to see a representative of the Alien Property Custodian in due course, to go into this matter further, for they will unquestionably want further details before reaching any decision. What their ultimate decision will be after discussing the matter with a representative of the Alien Property Custodian, I cannot foresee, but I do believe that on July 12 there is now a possibility that I will be informed that they will at least be prepared to discuss the matter with a representative of the Alien Property Custodian.

Please assure the President that in view of his desire that I present this matter, I have done so and have done so in the most effective manner that I could. I will keep the Department informed of any developments.

With all good wishes, believe me,

Cordially and faithfully yours,

G. S. Messersmith
  1. Not printed. The substance of this letter was covered by the telephone conversation reported in the memorandum of June 28 by the Under Secretary of State to President Roosevelt, p. 510.↩
  2. Note No. 1488, July 3, not printed. Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in Mexico in his despatch No. 11260, July 7 (not printed).↩
  3. No. 11260, July 7, not printed.↩