23 July 1938 
U.S.S. HOUSTON 
23 July 1938 
STATS DEPARTMENT RADIO BULLETIN #170 
(22 July 1938) • 
White House - President’s Cruise: 
According to radio reports from the U.S.S. Houston the 
President and several members of his party went ashore yester- 
day at Clipperton Island, a Trench possession off the Pacific 
Coast of Mexico. It was reported today th&t a speed of 21 knots 
was being maintained by the Houston in order to reach the Gala- 
pagos Islands on Sunday. ■ 
State Department - Press Conference; 
At the Press Conference this afternoon, the Secretary stated in 
reply to an inquiry regarding his meeting this morning with a 
representative of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey that 
there had been nothing new or unusual in the visit, adding 
that it had been one of a soles of periodic calls by represen- 
tatives of some of the Oil companys with exchanges of information 
such as had been taking place. Asked whether his caller had 
expressed satisfaction or dissatisfaction at the tenor of the 
note deliverdd yesterday to the Mexican Ambassador, the 
Secretary replied that he was unable to go into the details of 
the conversation. 
A correspondent inquired whether the Secretary could confirm 
press reports earlier this week from Mexico City ascribing to 
President Cardenas the statement that the Mexican Government 
had not at any time received a note from this government 
regarding the expropriation of the oil properties. The Secre- 
tary replied that he had not gone into the despatches from 
Mexico City in detail. He continued by declaring that the 
note presented yesterday to the Mexican government spoke for 
itself and that he was not disposed to take up any of its phases 
in oral discussion at this time. He reminded the correspondents 
that from the beginning of the property seizures he had pointed 
out that the departments task was to carry on conversation and 
exchanges of views and information with the Mexican government 
in the hope of working out pan amicable basis the most expedit- 
ious settlement of the m.atberat issue. He stated .that represen- 
tations both oral arid otherwise on all phases of the subject 
had taken place during recent months and that the department 
had not sought to divert attention from the main problems 
presented by discussing some minor phase of the mechanics of 
the matter nor would it undertake to do so. Asked whether the 
receipt of the note had been acknowledged the Secretary replied 
that he did not recall if it had and in reply to further 
inquries he said that the Mexican ambassador had no appointment 
with him. today and that the Department had not yet received any 
information regarding the reaction in Mexico City to yesterday’s 
note. 
A correspondent remarked that press despatches from London con- 
tinued to state that the Anglo-American trade agreement negotia- 
tions had ’’bogged down” due to the reluctance of Great Britain 
to make certain concessions. The Secretary replied that the 
course of the negotiations was not mterially different from that 
of similar negotiatiations adding that he wished that they had 
reached a stage where he could say more. 
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