Office of the Historian

811.504 Mexico/124: Telegram

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

Mexico City, September 30, 1943—4 p.m.
[Received 10:19 p.m.]

962. As a result of my conversations with the President and the Ministry of Foreign Relations we have secured authorization to recruit agricultural workers up to 70,000 which I think we can get augmented to 75,000 shortly. We can proceed with commitments at home and recruitment here on this basis.

I also have a tentative authorization to increase the recruitment of railway workers by at least 5,000 but before we can proceed with this certain situations, which have arisen with respect to the railway workers and with which the Mexican authorities are definitely dissatisfied, will have to be clarified. There can for the moment be no further recruitment of railway workers.

I have covered the whole situation in a full despatch number 13,283 of September 29,57 and in a letter to Mr. Bonsal58 of the same date which went forward by airmail today.57

Messersmith
  1. Not printed.↩
  2. Philip W. Bonsal, Chief of the Division of the American Republics.↩
  3. Not printed.↩