379. Letter from Freeman to Rusk, May 251
Pursuant to our brief discussion at the Cabinet meeting this morning I would like to elaborate a bit further. If you have time, it might be useful to review the enclosed memorandum which I sent to the Economic Aid Task Force for it outlines our feeling here in Agriculture.
[Typeset Page 1600]We feel very strongly about the matter of the Economic Aid Agency from the standpoint of our anxiety to contribute to doing a good job. The crux of the matter, I expect, as a new aid agency develops will be contact and consultation at a high level on the plans and programs.
Here in the Department it is felt rather keenly that Agriculture has been generally ignored and more or less regarded as a kind of procurement agency. We envisage that to have the best program possible the resources of this Department must be mobilized, both in terms of the use of food and also in terms of agricultural technical assistance and development programs. I am sure you know that running across the board from research through extension, loan programs, forestry, conservation, marketing, and I could go on, there are some of the best qualified and most dedicated people that can be found anywhere in the Department of Agriculture. I am most anxious that they be motivated and organized to give on a long-term basis with real continuity of effort the best that they have for this essential foreign aid program that you will head.
You will note in the memorandum that it is our judgment that subject to operating responsibility in the country and subject to the authority in the Secretary of State to develop a plan for said country, we feel that the delegation of responsibility to Agriculture and other operating departments will be the best way to get an effective, long-term program which will have continuity and call forth the best efforts and all the resources of the operating departments. There may well be, of course, problems of control and [Facsimile Page 2] direct lines of responsibility which have existed in the past, but I think this will depend upon the nature of the delegation and the kind of attitude of the operating departments.
In any event, I did want you to know our thinking and I wanted you to know that foreign aid programs occupy a top priority in this Department and we feel keenly the responsibility for serving to stimulate land reform and agricultural development in the countries which will have priority for the attention that is needed.
I have talked and conferred with Chet Bowles about this before and I am sending along a copy of this letter to him. Perhaps some time we might have a chance to discuss this.
Warmest personal regards.
Sincerely yours,
P.S. It is good to have you home. Hope you can be around for a while.
- Agriculture’s role in the new AID Agency. No classification marking. 2 pp. Department of State, Central Files, 411.0041/5–2561.↩