811.504 Mexico/7–344: Airgram

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

A–2303. Reference is made to the Department’s instruction no. 5732 of May 26, 1944,13 with regard to a request received from the War Manpower Commission that Mexican Government raise the quota for Mexican railway workers in the United States from 40,000 to 50,000.

The Embassy has discussed this matter on several occasions with Mexican Foreign Office and Ministry of Labor officials. The Minister [Page 1317] of Labor14 informed the Counselor of Embassy orally today that the increase has been approved by the President. The Minister requested that the 10,000 men be recruited from States in the southern part of Mexico and he suggested 3,000 from Veracruz, 4,500 from Chiapas, 1,200 from Tabasco, 500 from Campeche and 1,000 from Yucatan. Questions concerning difficulties in transportation from these points and the ability of people from these areas to withstand the winter climate of the United States were discussed at length with the Minister and also with Messrs. Brown and Hough, representing the War Food Administration and the War Manpower Commission respectively in Mexico. Reasonably satisfactory assurances were received from the Minister with regard to transportation facilities. In view of the fact that a part of these workers will be agricultural laborers and because of the tropical environment in which they live, the Minister of Labor desires that approximately one-half of the 10,000 men be recruited for farm work in California. In this event, the quota for railway workers will not be affected as recruiting will take place in other parts of Mexico up to the 50,000 figure. The Embassy considers it expedient to defer to the wishes of the Minister of Labor in view of his cooperation in the past and his argument that the manpower resources of the southern Mexican States have been untouched to date in recruiting for the two programs. Licenciado Gurria* is a former Governor of Tabasco and is also personally interested in our recruiting workers from that State. In Hough’s opinion the need of the War Manpower Commission for 10,000 extra men is so great that the locality of the supply sources is of secondary importance. He and Brown will discuss with a Ministry of Labor official this afternoon arrangements for the recruiting of the agricultural and track workers from the regions mentioned above.

Messersmith
  1. See footnote 8, p. 1312.
  2. Ignacio García Téllez.
  3. Francisco Trujillo Gurria. [Footnote in the original.]