710 Conference W and PW/1–1845

The Assistant Secretary of State (Rockefeller) to the Ambassador in Mexico (Messersmith)

Dear George: Thank you for your letter of January 18, enclosing a copy of despatch No. 22, 570.32 I fully understand the problem with which you were faced in proposing a change in date for the coming Conference from February 15th to the 21st, and it was only because of the Secretary’s plans that we found it necessary to make this request.

With respect to item IV of the agenda for the Conference, I find unanimity among the Ambassadors here with whom I have spoken that this item should not contain any specific reference to Argentina or the resolution of the Pan American Union of January 6[8], 1945. They feel and I agree that this item as presently drawn will lead the press to focus public attention on the Argentine problem as being the primary purpose of the coming Conference. Therefore, if this problem [Page 19] is not fully resolved during the Conference, there will be a tendency to condemn the Conference regardless of the results achieved on other matters.

Kind regards,

Sincerely,

Nelson A. Rockefeller
  1. Letter not printed; for despatch, see p. 9.