White House Press Release, Correspondence Between President Harry S. Truman and Spruille Braden

#1158 208 IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 4, 1947 The President today sent the following letter to the Honorable Spruille Braden, accepting his resignation as Assistant Secretary of State: "Dear Spruille: In accordance with the desire expressed in your letter of May twenty-ninth, I am reluctantly accepting your resignation as Assistant Secretary of State, effective at the close of business on June thir- tieth next. I am guided by your wishes in this matter, recognizing both the personal sacrifices which you have made in order to serve our Government and your important contributions over the past fourteen years to the cause of inter-American understanding, democracy and peace. Your record of public service has been out- standing whether as delegate to international conferences or as Ambassador in such important posts as Colombia, Cuba, and Argentina. The country has been the beneficiary of your patient and skillful negotiations in the various fields in which you have served. I feel that yours has been a record of fine achievement and I accept your resignation with sincere NARA regret, at the same time realizing not only that you have earned a vacation from public office but also that your obligations to your family and yourself now make imperative your return to private business. I take this occasion to express to you my thanks and to send you my warmest personal good wishes for your success in the years to come. Very sincerely yours, HARRY S. TRUMAN" Following is the text of Mr. Braden's letter to the President: "May 29, 1947 My dear Mr. President: It is with regret that I tender my resignation as Assistant Secretary of State, which I should like to take effect on July 1. It has been a very great privilege to serve our Government and I am withdrawing from official life with many happy associations and experiences. When I acceded to Secretary Byrnes' request almost two years ago that I come to Washington from Buenos Aires where I was then serving as Ambassador, I had already given more than ten consecutive years to Government service. I explained to him that I had long neglected my personal affairs and for this reason I could accept only on a provisional basis, for a year or so. My responsibilities to my family now make imper- ative my return to private business at an early date, and it is accordingly my hope that you will see fit to relieve (OVER)