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  4. Document 467

824.24/927

The War Shipping Administrator ( Land ) to the Secretary of State

Washington , December 30, 1943.

My Dear Mr. Secretary: Reference is made to your letter of December 24, 1943 concerning action which you desired to have the War Shipping Administration take with respect to shipments to Bolivia. In accordance with your request, the following steps have been taken by us:

1.
The Cargo Clearance Office in New York has been instructed, until further notice, to treat all cargo presently available and un-booked as ineligible for shipment.
2.
The Grace Line and the Chilean Line have been instructed to discontinue bookings for Bolivia until further notice.
3.
The two above named lines are being allowed to ship all cargo en route to or at port. It is to be understood, of course, that all of this cargo was documented and booked prior to receipt of your letter. The amount of cargo in this category on United States controlled vessels is 4,737 tons. These vessels, three in number, are expected to sail within the next week or ten days. The Chilean Line has a vessel sailing in the last half of January and some cargo, probably not exceeding several hundred tons, is en route to or at port.
4.
The steamship lines concerned have been instructed to cancel bookings on any cargo which is not en route to or at port. In this category, is one cargo of coal and 1,250 tons of lumber on United States vessels and an undetermined amount of cargo, probably around 1,000 tons, on a Chilean vessel.

The only persons informed of the above actions have been those immediately involved in carrying them out. The number has been held to the minimum. Should you require any further information or [Page 498] action within the general scope of your letter of December 24, I suggest that such matters be taken up with Mr. J. C. Corbett.85

I would be pleased to receive from you information regarding developments in our policy towards the revolutionary government in Bolivia, with special reference, of course, as to whether these developments require further action on our part.

Sincerely yours,

E. S. Land
  1. Assistant to the Assistant Deputy Administrator for Ship Control, War Shipping Administration.↩