811.504 Mexico/478a
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Mexico (Messersmith)
The Secretary of State refers to the agreement of April 29, 1943 for the temporary migration of Mexican nonagricultural workers and informs the Officer in charge that the War Manpower Commission has recently reached a decision to permit the renewal of contracts of Mexican railroad workers for periods less than 180 days but in no event for less than 90 days. The agreement under reference specifies no fixed period for the contracting of workers, but to date it has been the custom to extend contracts for 180 days, the equivalent of six months, and to renew them for a like period. The Department has been informed by the War Manpower Commission that in many cases Mexican railroad workers are willing to renew their contracts for 90 days but not 180 days and that the employing railroads are agreeable to this period as an accommodation to the workers.
The Officer in charge, in his discretion, may wish to inform the Mexican Government of the above-mentioned decision, in which case it should be stressed that the reason for the change was the convenience of Mexican workers, many of whom, especially in the northern States, wished to terminate their obligations before the arrival of the cold fall and winter months.