Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, The American Republics, Volume VII

The British Prime Minister (Churchill) to President Roosevelt ⁷

London, 26 November, 1944.

No. 832. 1. You will by now have received the print I sent you about the Argentine and British meat contracts. May I ask you to read again my telegram of 14th July 1944, with its enclosure of the minute by the Food Minister in which you will see that the contract mentioned was one of three-four years. It was in reply to this telegram that you sent your 730 [588] of July 23d [22d] which began “I would not do anything in the world to cut down the supply of meat to England. Heavens knows that it is quite short enough. We would do nothing to prevent your getting a new contract”. See also the last sentence of my reply to Stettinius of August 5th.⁹

2. It is perfectly clear there that we had your full agreement in making a three-four years contract in July. However on October 11th you sent me a strongish telegram¹⁰ to Moscow asking that we would continue on “a month to month basis for some time to come”. In order to meet your wishes at a critical time I agreed “that no long-term contract is to be negotiated for the next couple of months or so and that we are to proceed meanwhile on a month to month basis during which time we can discuss matters further”.¹¹

3. The “couple of months or so” is now nearly up and of course the Food Minister wishes to make his contract. I have however already received your number 651¹² in which you express a wish for further prolongation of the month to month basis. From the beginning I have told my colleagues that owing to our financial relationship and the scale on which you are helping us to play our part in the common war effort and for many other kindly and friendly acts I would not allow money to count in the matter. I have absolved the Minister of Food from his duty of making the most thrifty contracts in his power and have said that only if our food supply in beef and mutton is endangered should we have to resist your desires.

4. I have put this matter strongly to the Cabinet and they agreed about the money aspect and also felt the risk of our losing our meat supply might be accepted in the near future. In consequence we shall be prepared to continue on a month to month basis for six months from 1st December 1944. We do this on the understanding, to which I am sure you will agree, that all your influence and weight will be used to keep other buyers out of the Argentine market and make sure they do not get refrigerated cargo space. We hope this will be satisfactory to you. It is always my earnest desire to assist you in any way we can, having regard to all the many things you do for us.

5. Since however I brought this matter before the Cabinet I received the document contained in my immediately following telegram.¹³ I was of course very much hurt that this form of pressure should be applied to us, and I hope it will not be thought that the Cabinet was aware of it or influenced by it at the time they agreed to my request. It seems almost to amount to a threat of indirect blockade arising out of a matter on which I have your promise of July 23d.¹⁴ I feel sure that you yourself were not aware that this document was being sent to us and certainly Ambassador Winant knew nothing of its delivery.

I am therefore withholding it from circulation to the Cabinet.

Prime

7. Copy of telegram obtained from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, N.Y.
9. Not printed: this was a message of thanks and a request not to “forget our beef and mutton”.
10. Telegram 628, October 10, p. 363.
11. Telegram 796, October 13, p. 364.
12. Supra.
13. No. 833, not printed. It quoted a letter from the Counselor of Embassy in the United Kingdom (Gallman) to the Head of the South American Department of the British Foreign Office (Perowne) requesting information as to what steps the British Government was prepared to take with respect to Argentine imports and exports and stating that until such information was received the Department of State was reluctant to authorize the export of any products from the United States which would be used in connection with Argentine exports to the United Kingdom. The immediate question was the granting of an export license for 13 tons of synthetic rubber which was needed in a sealing compound for the Argentine meat pack that was intended for the United Kingdom.
14. See telegram 588, July 22, p. 333.