WALTER F. GEORGE - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 01/02/1940 - HFSID 320164

WALTER F. GEORGE
The month the US suspended its commercial treaty with Japan, the Senator responds noncommittally to a letter about US-Japan trade.
Typed Letter signed: "Walter F. George" as US Senator, 1 page, 8x10½. Washington, D. C., 1940 January 2. On his letterhead as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections to Mr. Dickson Hartwell, 9 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N. Y. In full: "You will permit me to acknowledge your letter of the 20th ultimo, addressed to me at my home. You are assured that I will give careful consideration to any measure affecting our foreign commerce whether with Japan or any other nation. Sincerely yours". Walter Franklin George (1878-1957), a Georgia Democrat, served in the US Senate from 1922 to 1957. Considered the Senate's best orator, he chaired at various times for two powerful committees: Finance and Foreign Relations. A conservative on most domestic issues, and especially civil rights, George generally supported the foreign policies of Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower. After declining to run for re-election in 1956, the ailing Senator George was appointed by Eisenhower as US Ambassador to NATO. In July of 1939, the United States gave the required six month notice of intent to suspend its commercial treaty with Japan. The treaty was suspended in the very month Senator George received this letter. Six months later, with Sino-American tensions rising, the US declared an embargo on sale of steel and scrap iron to Japan, the first of a series of strategic sanctions implemented before Pearl Harbor. Normal mailing folds. Lightly creased and toned. Paperclip impression at top left corner. Pencil notes (unknown hand) at top margin. Otherwise, fine condition.