White House Press Release, Correspondence Between President Harry S. Truman and William Benton

367 1321 IMMIDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 24, 1947. The President has sent the following letter to the Honorable William Benton, accepting his resignation as Assistant Secretary of State: "September 23, 1947 Dear Bill: I have your letter of resignation which I accept with reluctance, effective at the close of business on September thirtieth next. I know only too well the difficulties and frustrations which you have encountered in the program of demobilizing wartime information activities and at the same time carrying out my Directive of August 31, 1945 to project throughout the world a genuine picture of American life and the objectives of our democratic system. Your zeal and patience, however, have borne fruit and I want to commend you for the job that has been done. The United States Government has a continuing obligation to make available to the peoples of the world the facts about this country and the policies of our government. This is particularly important in the critical times ahead. You have succeeded in building a solid foundation upon which this work can go forward and I want you to know that I am appreciative of all that you have done in this regard. I shall feel free to call upon you from time to time for the further services and counsel which you can render out of your wide- spread experience. I am happy that you have agreed to carry through on UNESCO as Chairman of the American Delegation which will go to the conference in Mexico City in November. My best wishes go with you on your return to private life. Very sincerely yours, HARRY S. TRUMAN" Following is the text of Mr. Benton's letter to the President: "September 3, 1947 deports Dear Mr. President: For two years I have been endeavoring to carry out, in the Department of State, the assignment given me by you and Secretary Byrnes on August 31, 1945. My experience has convinced me how sound and how far-sighted were the terms of your directive of that date, under which I have been operating. I am profoundly grateful to you for the opportunity for public service which you offered me, from which I have learned much and in which I hope I have contributed to the development of your policies. Further, I am deeply mindful of your many courtesies to me and your unfailing support of my efforts. (OVER)