Statement on Replies to the President's Suggestion for an Inter-American Conference.

Replies have now been received from the Presidents of all of the American Republics with the exception of the Republic of Paraguay. The letter addressed by the President to the former President of Paraguay was not received until just after the recent overturn of the Government in Paraguay. Owing to the fact that the new Government has just been recognized by the United States, it has been possible only within the last few days for the President to send a similar letter to the new President of Paraguay. The Government of Paraguay, however, has officially stated to the press that if and when Colonel Franco, the new President of Paraguay, receives such a letter from the President of the United States, he would be glad to reply immediately, expressing his desire to cooperate in the proposed inter-American conference.

All of the replies received have expressed the full and cordial approbation of the President's suggestions and the desire of the American Republics to cooperate enthusiastically in order to assure the successful achievement of the purposes indicated by the President in his recent letter. The majority of the letters received were written within forty-eight hours after the receipt of the President's letter.

Many of the letters contain specific suggestions as to the program which should be undertaken in the proposed conference, and some of the Governments have informed us that more detailed and specific suggestions as to the agenda would be communicated shortly through diplomatic channels.

All of the Governments have expressed their accord with the President's suggestion that the conference be called to convene in Buenos Aires, and the President of Argentina, in his reply, has said:

"I take pleasure in offering Buenos Aires as the seat of the proposed conference, accepting the suggestion which Your Excellency formulated of holding the conference in its midst. I esteem it as a great honor, for which I am deeply grateful."

During the next weeks, there will be continuing communications between this Government and the Governments of the American Republics with a view to obtaining unanimous agreement on the program and agenda for the conference. Until it can be ascertained how long this preparatory period will take, no date can be fixed for the conference.