Memorandum from President Harry S. Truman to Secretary of State Dean Acheson with Attached Report from United States Ambassador to Luxembourg Perle Mesta
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ARCHIVES 'NATIONAL AND JUNE
RECORDS
SERVICE"
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August 11, 1952
Personal and Confidential
3670
Memorandum for : Honorable Dean Acheson
252-a
From:
The President
After much prodding I succeeded in getting Mrs. Mesta to
give me a report on her experience with the career men
which she found in the Embassy in Luxembourg. I am sending
you a copy of the report which I finally succeeded in getting
her to write for me and which I hope you will read very care-
fully. Had I known of this situation when it was taking place
these birds would have been kicked out forthwith.
I imagine the same situation exists in the other embassies
when the President makes appointments with which they are
not in sympathy. I've had reports from half a dozen Legations
in Europe and in South and Central America that career people
were actively working for Taft and made no bones about their
contempt for the present occupant of the White House.
I've never said anything to you about it but it is coming to the
end of the row now and I thought you ought to know yourself
personally what goes on down the line. These reports have not
come to me through the heads of Legations and the only way I
succeeded in getting Mrs. Mesta to give me this report was to
sit down and tell her she had to do it.
I found out through visitors to Luxembourg and through visitors
to several of the Latin American countries, the French and
Italian Embassies and to Norway and Denmark, that the same
sort of practice is followed by career men in every one of
these Legations. Mrs. Anderson had the same thing to contend
with, although she has never said a word to me about it.
If you will read this report which Mrs. Mesta gave me I am
sure you will feel as I did that these people need a first class
kick where it will do the most good.
10/10/52
mesta memo gresi
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