811.5245/57

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Alling)

While calling on another matter today, the Indian Agent General88 referred to the question of legislation now before the California State Legislature involving what Indian nationals there consider discriminatory treatment. This matter had been taken up with me a few days ago by Mr. Creagh Coen of the Indian Agency General.

I told the Agent General that I did not know what could be done—that the subject obviously was a very delicate one. I added that it might be possible for us to take the question up informally, which I thought would be a better approach than any formal communication to the California authorities. The Agent General said he thought it was much better to handle the question informally and, in that connection, he said that if we thought it would be helpful he was perfectly prepared to go to California himself and discuss the question with the Governor. He said he would do this in a most informal and off-the-record way. He believed that he could convince the California authorities by such discussions that the proposed legislation was most undesirable.

I told the Agent General that I should be glad to pass this suggestion along to see what other Officers in the Department thought of it.

  1. Sir Girja Shankar Bajpai.