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Worlds Fair
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President's Secretary's File (Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration)
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PSF Subject File : Worlds Fair
Retired
PSF:
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
2
STATE STATE DEPARTMENTOR )
WASHINGTON
UNITED STATES
NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSION
June 28, 1939
THE JUN JUN 28 WHITE 28 RECEIVED II 19 HOUSE 19 AM "39
The President,
The White House.
Dear Mr. President:
I am returning herewith the correspondence from
Mrs. Rhodes concerning the treatment of foreign exhibitors
at the New York World's Fair.
So far as I can discover, the United States
Commission has no jurisdiction over the relations between
the Fair Corporation and the foreign exhibitors, but we
can at least help you obtain the facts. Ed Flynn thinks
he may be able to get some quiet investigation under way
before he leaves for Europe on Saturday.
I shall report our findings to you as soon as
possible.
Sincerely,
Hawallace
Secretary.
Enclosures
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 23, 1939.
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE:
I am very much worried about the
treatment of the foreign exhibitors at the
World's Fair in New York. I think you
are the Chairman of the U. S. Commission.
Perhaps you could start some quiet investi-
gation into the feeling of the foreign ex-
hibitors and the causes.
This letter from Mrs. Rhodes is
merely one of many samples. It 18 not for
use so please send it back to me.
F.D.R.
BUREAU OF FASHION TRENDS
June Hamilton Rhodes
MANAGING DIRECTOR
June 21st, 1939
Dear Missy:
I am not "aiming to be a first class nuisance",
but honestly, this Grover Whalen business with foreign exhibitors
is a scandal.
I know the President knows how badly it has been
handled, but when the Fair wants a few million dollars from the
State and Federal Governments, the President can have all the
signed affidavits he wants from every foreign exhibitor in the
fair. The greatest obstacle toward the fair's success 18 Grover
Whalen. I live with this and I know.
I promise not to write any more letters of
complaint or advice.
Love and best wishes for a happy summer.
Devotedly,
jhr;me
June
Miss Marguerite LeHand
Secretary to the President
The White House
Washington, D. C.
366 FIFTH AVENUE NEWYORK TEL. WI 7-7476 CABLE Junerhodes, New York
BUREAU OF FASHION TRENDS
June Hamilton Rhodes
MANAGING DIRECTOR
June 21st, 1959
Dear Mr. President:
Last Sunday at your historic pienic for the King and
Queen, Mrs. Thompson came up to Malvina and raised considerable
rumpus because you had not walked out into the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean and rescued those nine hundred refugees who were on their way
with no place to go. of course, even I know you couldn't do that,
but probably when you know what is on my mind, you will think I am as
bad as Mrs. Thompson.
Possibly you do not know that we persuaded the DeBeers
Consolidated Mines, Ltd. and Associated Companies and The Diamond Corp-
oration, Ltd., to take half of the House of Jewels at the New York World's
Fair and since this is my promotion at the World's Fair from its incep-
tion, I have been directly associated with Mr. H. T. Dickinson, Techni-
cal Director and Chairman of the Board, and Mr. F. S. C. Rogers,
Accredited Agent, of the DeBeers Consolidated Mines, Ltd.
They feel exactly about the fair as do all of these other
gentlemen for whom Dr. Neil Van Aken, president of the Foreign Govern-
ment Commissioners Club, spoke last week. Everything that has happened
at the fair with relation to foreign exhibits has been unpleasant, un-,
gracious, and in the case of the Diamond Syndicate, downright rude and
uncooperative. Their feeling against the whole thing is pretty keen
and they are amazed at the American methods of fulfilling contracts.
We have had direct reports also from the Australian exhibitors with
whom we are affiliated through our Wool account.
In column four on the front page of the New York Times of
Thursday June 15th, we saw, "$10,000,000 'Excess' laid to Fair Labor".
This is the last of a long series of justifiable complaints.
There are some people who have rated Mr. Grover Whalen as
a great genius. Certainly he has a great genius for doing the wrong
thing at the wrong time and unless he is removed from our fair, it
will continue to lose Hundreds of Thousands of dollars a day. Foreign
exhibitors will not participate the following year, and every day, ill
will and distrust are built up in the minds of the very people with
whom we are trying to establish only the friendliest of relations in
the interest of international peace.
366 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK TEL. W I 7-7476 . CABLE Junerhodes, New York
I know that you have read, and probably have reports
which will coincide with the statements I am making, but I can give
you signed statements from every one of these exhibitors which will
corroborate everything I have stated.
Furthermore, there are artists who have come over here,
have been treated with neglect, if not contempt. The net result of
the reaction of every foreigner in this fair is that he has come to
America which is a rude, discourteous country and has been "gypped"
from start to finish.
You have done so many things that seemed impossible that
I believe you could do something to in some way compensate these ex-
hibitors from great foreign organizations and friendly countries for
the apparent dishonest treatment they have had from this Fair Corpora-
tion. Naturally an organization like DeBeers feels that it rates some
courtesy. Whenever Mr. Rogers has requested any assistance of any kind,
not only for this exhibit but for the DeBeers large industrial exhibit,
they have been told that the World's Fair is a very big organization
and that it is difficult to get anything done. This is rather amusing
when you think you could drop the World's Fair down any one of the
Kimberley shafts and that in ten minutes you would probably be unable
to locate it.
The insular and provincial point of view of the officials
in general is unbelievable. I presume I can't say insular because the
fair isn't really on Manhattan, is it?
I feel ashamed to write you when you are so terribly busy
and I hope you will forgive me but this thing has become so malodorous
and the feeling on the part of the foreign exhibitors is 80 keen that
I fear our State Department may eventually have to cope with some of
the difficulties arising out of this very New York World's Fair.
Very sincerely yours,
jhr;me
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
The White House
June
Washington, D. C.