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that those two great neutral influences should pull together, and not apart, so that, if at any
 
moment there seemed to be an opportunity for the establishment of world peace, of a permanent
 
and stable nature, those two great neutral influences could effectively cooperate morally together
 
for the construction of lasting and sound peace foundations.
 
     The Minister very heartily concurred.  I said that since I was happy to see that we were
 
in full agreement on this premise, I believed it might be desirable to emphasize in some practical 
 
and open way the friendly relationship between our two countries. The American people had been 
 
greatly impressed with the splendid contribution which Italy had made both to the New York and 
 
San Francisco Expositions. My Government had also greatly appreciated the decision of the 
 
Italian Government to continue this coming year its participation in the New York World's Fair. I 
 
said that I was glad to tell the Minister that the day I left Washington a bill had been introduced in 
 
the United States Senate providing for the appropriation of $2,000,000 for participation by the 
 
United States in the Rome Exposition of 1942, and that the President was personally interested in 
 
seeing that this legislation be enacted. I felt that this would constitute a practical demonstration of 
 
the kind I had in mind.
 
     Count Ciano expressed his very great satisfaction.  He said this Exposition, while 
 
constituting a permanent embellishment of Rome--since all the new Exposition build-
 
ings would eventually become Government offices--would be in reality Mussolini monument, and 
 
that participation