Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The Near and Middle East, Volume IX, Part 1

800.054/7–2852

No. 262
Memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (Linder) ¹

confidential

[Washington,] July 28, 1952.

Subject:

• Grand Jury Investigation of the Cartel Activities of the International Oil Companies.

On June 23 the President sent the Secretary the attached memorandum.² You will note that the President had requested the Attorney General to institute appropriate legal proceedings with respect to the operations of the international oil cartel, and that he asked the Secretary to cooperate with the Attorney General in gathering the evidence required for the proceedings.

On July 17 the Attorney General announced that a Federal Grand Jury would shortly begin investigating the activities of the international oil cartel.

Followng receipt of the President’s memorandum, Justice was informed that the Department would cooperate with them in the investigation, and that Mr. Eakens of the Petroleum Policy Staff and Mr. Dixon of the Business Practices and Technology Staff had been designated as liaison officers with Justice in this matter. A copy of the letter to Justice is also attached.³

In addition to the Grand Jury investigation of the oil companies, there are indications that one or possibly more Congressional committees in the next Congress will investigate the activities of the international oil companies.

I believe it is desirable for each office in the Department to determine what information its files may contain that may be relevant to these inquiries. I believe that it would also be useful if you would designate someone in your office to work with Mr. Eakens and Mr. Dixon on this problem.

Preliminary discussions are taking place with Justice to determine the scope and nature of the charges that will be presented to the Grand Jury. While no time has yet been set for the Grand Jury investigation, action appears to be imminent and it is desirable for the Department to be prepared as soon as possible.

1. Drafted by Eakens and sent to Byroade, Miller, Perkins, Allison, and Fisher.
2. The memorandum, dated June 23, not printed, was also sent to the Federal Trade Commission and the Secretaries of Defense, Interior, and Commerce. It informed them that the President had requested the Attorney General to institute the appropriate legal proceedings with respect to the operations of the international oil cartel, and he asked the recipients of the memorandum to cooperate in gathering evidence required for the proceedings.
3. Not printed. The undated letter from the Secretary of State to the Attorney General acknowledged receipt of the President’s memorandum and promised to make the facilities of the Department of State available to the Department of Justice. The Secretary of State appointed Roger Dixon, Chief of the Business Practices and Technology Staff, and Robert Eakens, Chief of the Petroleum Policy Staff, liaison officers with the Department of Justice officers concerned with the investigation. The Department of State letter was drafted on June 27 by Dixon. (800.054/72852)