Office of the Historian

ETA–19. Memorandum from the President’s Special Assistant (Paarlberg) to the President’s Personal Secretary (Whitman)1

Washington, March 5, 1959

At 3:00 p.m. March 5, a group called upon the President regarding the Inter-American Development Banking Institution. The meeting lasted about half an hour.2 Secretary Anderson led the group. Others present were Dillon, Stans, Paarlberg, Upton and Willis.

Secretary Anderson outlined plans briefly. He indicated several issues and indicated the positions proposed for the United States:

1.
Relatively modest beginnings, and growth after the institution has proved itself.
2.
A strong role for top management in judgments regarding individual loans.
3.
Procurement, with loaned funds, from the free world.
4.
Vote on a weighted basis.

With these points the President agreed.

Secretary Anderson indicated that the matter had the concurrence of Dr. Milton Eisenhower.

Secretary Anderson indicated that embassies of the twenty-one Latin American countries would be notified of our intentions and that ranking members of the appropriate Congressional Committees would likewise be notified.

Don Paarlberg
Special Assistant
  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, DDE Diaries.↩
  2. The President’s Daily Appointments Book for March 5, 1959, indicates that this meeting was “Off the Record.”↩