711.359 Sanitary/494
The Secretary of State to the Secretary of the American National Livestock Association (Mollin)
My Dear Mr. Mollin: The receipt is acknowledged, by reference from the White House, of your telegram of September 7, 1940 regarding a statement reported to have been made by Dr. Leopoldo Melo concerning the pending Sanitary Treaty with Argentina.
You will by now undoubtedly have seen press reports of a comment by Mr. Stephen Early, Secretary to the President, who was quoted as commenting:
“To the best of the President’s memory, the only conversation he had with Señor Melo with respect to the sanitary convention was that Señor Melo asked him if the convention, which had been pending before the Senate for several years, had any chance of passage. The President told him definitely no—that in his opinion it could not get the necessary votes because it obviously was opposed by Western Senators. As for the rest of Señor Melo’s reported remarks, they are an obvious misquotation.”
You may also have seen press announcements of a statement made in Buenos Aires that he had been misquoted.
Sincerely yours,
[This Convention was not acted upon by the Senate. Pursuant to a message from President Truman to the Senate, April 8, 1947, and a Senate Resolution of April 17, 1947, the Convention was withdrawn from the Senate. See Congressional Record, volume 93, part 3, pages 3583–3584.]