Extracted text

OCR Page 1 of 5
May 3, 1945 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Gift of property to the United States under the Will of the late Helen Barklie Darcy. The late Helen Barklie Darcy of Morristown, New Jersey, bequeathed to the United States an oil painting of her great-great-grandfather, Admiral deGrasse, a French officer who rendered valuable assistance to this country during the American Revolution. Your acceptance on behalf of the United States, of gifts such as this is authorized by the Diplomatic and Consular Appropriation Act, approved March 2, 1921, (Ch. 113, 41 Stat. 1215). Since this oil painting could be very appropriately used in the American Embassy in Paris, it is recommended that the bequest be accepted by you on behalf of the United States of America. There are ample precedents for the action we are recommending, among them being the gift of a statue of Benjamin Franklin by Mrs. Paul W. Bartlett for the Embassy building in Paris in 1939 and the gift of a bronze eagle by Dr. Gustavo Moreno, Minister of Public Works of the Republic of Cuba for the Embassy in Habana in January of this year. AND RECORDS to SERVICE JOSEPH C. GREW Acting Secretary