DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memorandum of Conversation
Date: February 9, 1950
Subject: Interview with Walter White, Secretary of National Association For the Advancement of Color People, on Aid to India and Other Matters
Participants: Dr. Walter White, Secretary, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The Secretary Mr. Mathews - SOA Mr. Mackay - EID
Copies to: S/S, NFA,E, EUR, UNA, ARA,DRN,CIA. Embassy New Delhi
Mr. White told me that he had been discussing with Walter and Victor Reuther and with Fowler McCormick and Henry Ford a plan whereby the members of the United States Automobile Workers engaged in the manufacture of farm implements would contribute one day's production to India. Management would match labor's contribution. The purpose of this plan was to give tangible evidence to India that the American public was interested in its problems and wished to assist in their solution. Mr. White said that he had discussed this idea with Mrs. Reid of the New York Herald Tribune and that he was sure that he could obtain adequate publicity at the appropriate time.
I said that the plan seemed excellent and that it would be highly effective in convincing the Indian people that we had a real interest in them. I commented that our feeling was that any agricultural implements which were sent to India should be of a simple type as there were not enough people trained to handle large and complicated machines. When asked whether it was contemplated that the UAW members would contribute a day's wages to be matched by an equal contribution from management, Mr. White replied that his idea had been that the contribution would be taken from the equipment produced on the day selected. Mr. Mathews commented that this might result in varied types of equipment being contributed, many of which might not be suited to Indian conditions. He went on to say that the Department had recently been told by informed observers that the greatest contribution to Indian agriculture would be the provision of a large number of six-inch moldboard plows which would enable a pair of bullocks to plow a greatly increased acreage each working day. Mr. White expressed his appreciation of these comments and said that he would welcome any further information the Department could give him as to the best way of implementing his plan. I said that we would query our Agricultural Attaché in New Delhi and that we would also assemble and send to Mr. White such information as we had on the most useful types of agricultural equipment for India.
Mr. White stated that he was seeing the President today and would discuss this matter at the White House. He suggested that it would be helpful if the President could later have a conference with Fowler McCormick, Henry Ford, Walter Reuther and me. I commented that I should be happy to attend such a meeting, but felt that an important preliminary step would be the preparation of a definite plan by the labor and management interests involved. We would not want it to appear that the idea had been initiated by the Government. Mr. White agreed.
Mr. White said he would like to tie in his plan with the Point IV program but feared that this might be long deferred. I replied that I was not so pessimistic since we had reached agreement with Representative Herter on a compromise bill. It now seemed likely that we could launch the program by next summer.
Mr. White referred to his meetings with Prime Minister Nehru in India and in the U.S., and remarked that Nehru had been greatly impressed during his visit to this country by the friendliness of the American people. I said that I felt Nehru had acquired a better understanding of the U.S. while here although he was at the moment very annoyed with me because I had ventured to differ with him on Kashmir. On this subject, Nehru was very emotional-he went through the roof when discussing it with me at my house-and unreceptive to opposition.
Mr. White told me that he and his wife were planning to visit South America and southern Africa later this year. I commented that he would find Brazil the brightest spot in South America; in most of the other countries, conditions were not too satisfactory. When Mr. White expressed an interest in learning something about conditions in Africa before beginning his travels, I offered to have the appropriate officers of the Department brief him on southern Africa. Mr. White accepted gratefully, and said that he would get in touch with me later in this connection.
Mr. Mathews referred to the fact that Mr. and Mrs. White had met the Pakistan Prime Minister and his wife while traveling with the Town Meeting on the Air group, and expressed the hope that Mr. White would interest himself in the Liaquats' visit next May. Mr. White said he would be glad to do so, and remarked that he had already been asked to serve on a reception committee in New York.
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