THE PERSONAL  REPRESENTATIVE OF THE                                                           
                            PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA                                  
                                TO HIS HOLINESS THE POPE    
 
                                       2 Via Boncompagni    
 
                   Rome, November 27, 1944                  
 
                    Dear Mr. President:                     
 
                                                            
 
 
Enclosed herewith are two copies of a letter dated November 20, 1944 which   
I addressed to the Right Honorable Harold MacMillan upon his taking office   
as President of the Allied Commission, in order that he might properly be   
made acquainted with the problems of relief as far as American Relief for   
Italy and myself have been concerned with them. I sent a copy of this   
letter to General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, Allied Supreme Commander in   
Chief of the Mediterranean Theater, and others interested, and have  
today received a reply from Lt. General J. W. C. Clark,  
                 of which I enclose a copy.                 
 
                                                            
 
 
I believe that President MacMillan is planning to  
visit Washington and London before taking up his active duties as head of   
the Allied Commlission here; therefore these two communications may be of   
interest to you. I am enclosing two copies for Secretary Hull to whom you   
        may wish to hand them as being interesting.         
 
                                                            
 
 
Permit me to observe that the Spanish shipment   
originating in January this year has - in accordance with General Clark's   
letter encountered a new obstacle. I would also like to suggest that the   
relief ship to which I referred and which had been discouraged previously,   
but which General Wilson and General Clark now believe to be feasible,   
does not need to carry a full cargo of American Relief for Italy   
materials, but might carry a cargo including materials to be made up of   
relief materials such as flour, and foodstuffs of other sources that are   
intended for relief purposes. I might also add that the conception of   
relief which is based upon barter, as is the Allied Commission's   
restriction upon supplying it to the National Government of Italy, is not   
relief at all-so far as the needs of the homeless, hungry, illy-clad   
people in the devastated Southern Italy who have no money to buy things,   
                       are concerned.                       
 
                       The President                        
 
                                                                    "~"  
                      The White House                       
 
                        Washington.