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| Office Memorandum ° UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO: The Director - ~DATE: May 18, 1948 :- FROM : . re D. M. taaet’s ~ % Mr. Tolson — : i le! Clegg f SUBJECT: OPEN LETTER TO STALIN d ws Lead BY HENRY WALLACE 7K lr: Rose ECO. Oy i rane Kd : uw. Tracy’ i / * ir) Gernes——— y, Nd Mr. Harbo_———_— a . Mr. Mohr. a? By reference from your office, the Attorney General talked fele. Room with Mr. L. L. laughlin at 1:15 today. Mr. Clark stated that he had Mes Qe received a telephone call from Mr. Bob Lovett, Undersecretary of State ,—_____-__ a few moments ago in which Mr. Lovett referred to an open letter to Stalin from Henry Wallace. / 78 The Attorney General steted that this letter may be a possible violation of the Lane Act (phonetic), an old statute passed around 1795 which prohibits a citizen in the United States from communicating with a foreign country concerning a matter bearing on diplomtio relations. Mr. Clark requested that a Bureau official call on Mr. Lovett at his office at 2:50 today for the purpose of obtaining any “leads" which Lovett has. The Attorney General stated thet according to his brief conversation with Mr. Lovett, he understands this letter was lithographed. The Attorney General further stated if the letter was sent directly to Stalin and Wallace had received a reply before he released the letter to the press, a possible violation is involved. On the other hand, Mr. Clark stated that if the letter were sent to Stalin openly by means of @ radio broadcast and not directed to him personally, then a different circumstance existed. ! ‘The A,torney General stated that any action taken in regard to o> this matter must be, of course, very discreet, since @ did not desire wo ‘Wallace. He sug~ that it be known that the FBI was investigating Hen: . @lk with _ gested thet after the Bureau official had an opportunity Mr. Lovett that he would discuss this matter further with you. S ACTION: my If you approve I will call on Mr. Lovett at 2:30 pem. at his an YY } office in thé New State Department Building, 2lst and Virginia Avenue, Northwest. > . ‘ ADDENDUM: In accordance with your instru 1. Mr. Ladd will handle une = ob . TAFORMAT.ON G ONT | K me S5JUNS 1948