825.6374/3–1148
The Secretary of State to the Chilean Ambassador (Nieto del Rio)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of Chile and has the honor to refer to the Department’s note of January 2, 19471 in which assurances were furnished of this Government’s willingness to consult with the Government of Chile with respect to the disposal of this Government’s remaining synthetic ammonia plants, of which no disposition has as yet been made.
The Department is informed by the War Assets Administration that the latter agency now has under active consideration a proposal for the purchase from the War Assets Administration of the Jayhawk Ordnance Works by the present lessee, the Spencer Chemical Company. The price offered by the latter company is $9,500,000. The foregoing information has been transmitted verbally by an official of the Department to Mr. Mario Illanes, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy.
The War Assets Administration has been requested by the Department to make available to representatives of the Government of Chile upon request further information concerning the proposed disposal.
The Department will undertake to transmit to the Embassy a copy of the agreed terms of disposal, as soon as they may be available from the War Assets Administration, for examination by representatives of the Embassy. Following receipt of the aforementioned terms of disposal, and prior to final disposal of the equipment in question, the Department will be pleased to arrange consultations between Chilean officials and appropriate officials of this Government, should the Ambassador consider such consultations desirable.
- Not printed.↩