Summaries of Telephone Conversations

Washington, D. C. CO SUMMARY August 3, 1945 9:05 AM CORCORAN, from his home, to MR. FRED BOYD at CORCORAN's office saying he couldn't get down by 9:00. CORCORAN said he thinks "we" are past the danger point. CORCORAN said he wants to talk to BOYD now about industrial diamonds. CORCORAN said that the United States has been buying industrial diamonds from a fellow in Venezuela who had them mined by hand; now this fellow has the diamond industrial concession in Venezuela and is up here to raise capital to put in machinery in his mine. CORCORAN said he has advised friends not to invest because the fellow intends to buck the De BEER (phonetic) syndicate. BOYD agrees with him and cites the instance of a fellow named SCHMIDT (phonetic) who got in trouble with the government here and was kicked out of the Netherlands Club. BOYD has a lot of friends in New York in this business and will inquire around and see what kind of an investment this would make. 11:05 AM CORCORAN to ED FOLEY (Committee for Reciprocity Information ?). CORCORAN said that lots of things happened yesterday and asked FOLEY if he would be willing to serve as Under-Secretary of the Interior for a few months in case "this other thing" doesn't come through. FOLEY will think it over. CORCORAN says he is also sending (MONROE) OPPENHEIMER to see O'CONNELL on a tax case. 11:16 AM Secretary (FRED) VINSON to CORCORAN. The following conversation took place: C - I did some prayerfully checking on that information the other day and you were more right than I was. This was (JOHN) SNYDER (OWMR) quoting the guy that I said was the original source of it to HUGH COX (Formerly Solicitor General of Department of Justice). V - Direct to HUGH. C - That was direct to HUGH, and he quoted the other fellow. O.K., sir. V - I just happen to know how those two fellows--how one of them evaluates the other. I just know that the quotation's wrong. I'd feel that very way if someone would tell me C - Well I feel much happier V - That you--if somebody quoted you. They can't dent me when I think I know somebody. C - Yeah. V - And this other fellow is--he knows the story. Now I wouldn't be at all surprised, TOM, if the fellow who was quoted--I mean--the fellow who was supposed to have said what was quoted, had spoken of another fellow. You understand? C - I understand what you mean. V - Because the situation was pretty bad in regard to that, but I just know that C - Well, I was desperately anxious to get it back to you accurately because, frankly, I was surprised if either of them had said it. But I evaluate the people as you do. I feel much happier about the situation as I get the report on it in the accurate form than I would have felt about it if it had been the other way. V - Yeah. C - All right, sir. Sorry to have bothered you. V - Now listen.