October 5, 1942.
 
MEMORANDUM FOR
 
               THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
               THE SECRETARY OF WAR
               THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
 
     Please appoint one man to represent the Treasury, one man from G-2 to represent the
Army, and one man from ONI to represent the Navy, to serve as a committee for the next 30 days
to inspect for the President, as Commander-in-Chief, all outgoing and incoming diplomatic
pouches of the Governments of Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Portugal, and France, and
Eire.
 
     Also to inspect during the next 30 days all outgoing pouches from our State Department
to our Embassies and Legations in the above mentioned countries; also all outgoing pouches from
our State Department to Ambassador Biddle in London.  The object is, of course, to see whether
our own pouches are being used from this end to convey information to other governments
without our knowledge, even though these governemnts may be a part of the United Nations.
 
     There shall be no subordinate to represent any member of this committee of three, and no
person shall be informed of any suspicious contents of said pouches except the President of the
United States.  All reports will be made to the Commander-in-CHief and only to the Commander-in-Chief.
 
     I am having made only this one directive, which I am sending to the Secretary of the
Treasury with the request that he communicate it verbally to the Secretary of War and any
reference thereto be reduced to writing.  This is in the interest of complete secrecy.
 
                              F.D.R.