April 6, 1950
MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH MR. HOFFMAN
Strategy on Vote on Foreign Aid Authorization Legislation.
Mr. Hoffman telephoned me this afternoon to say that as of the moment he thought he had every chance of a favorable vote in the Senate on the Foreign Aid Authorization legislation. He was quite certain that he had 58 votes if the legislation could come to vote soon. Mr. Hoffman had made several radio talks; Senator McCarran was coming out this week with a favorable article in the Saturday Evening Post, and there was to be a good article in Look. All of this seemed to him to make the near future a propitious time for the Senate vote.
However, Senator Lucas had been talking with Mr. Hoffman, and had said he had promised the proponents of the FEPC that he would bring that up right after the Harbors and Rivers legislation. Mr. Hoffman thought that Senator Lucas was in agreement that it would be better if the Foreign Aid legislation would come up before the highly controversial FEPC bill, but he felt he was under a commitment which he could not break, unless the President suggested he do so. Mr. Hoffman's suggestion was that I call the President and tell him the problem and let him be thinking over whether, when he gets back to Washington, he would want to suggest that the Foreign Aid legislation be brought up before the FEPC. Mr. Hoffman said he was quite willing to call the president himself, but he thought the President might have less faith in his objectivity with respect to this legislation than he would in mine.
I said I would think it over, talk with Mr. Webb, and call him back tomorrow morning.
Dean Acheson
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