Presidential Papers, Doc#653 To Dillon Anderson, 9 January 1954. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Document #653; January 9, 1954
To Dillon Anderson
Series: EM, AWF, Dulles-Herter Series
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XV - The Presidency: The Middle Way
Part IV: "Pushing ahead along the broad center"; December 1953 to March 1954
Chapter 8: A world "racing toward catastrophe"

 

Dear Dillon:1 I am informed by all my most competent associates in the foreign affairs business that the one man, qualified above all others for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American affairs, is a law partner of yours, Henry Holland.2 Foster Dulles, Bedell Smith and Bobby Cutler have all given me estimates of Mr. Holland that can be classed as nothing less than glowing.

If I had the privilege of calling him my friend, I would personally contact him to urge his acceptance of this post. The matter of our Latin American relationships and the need for a sure and experienced hand in directing and coordinating them cause me the greatest concern.

Because of these facts and understandings, I am writing to you as my closest connection with Mr. Holland and requesting that you make sure that he is clearly aware of the importance to our country of this post and its duties, and that the filling of the post with a properly qualified man is something that is of the greatest importance to me personally.3

With warm personal regard, As ever

P.S. Not only does this note bring to you my best wishes for a fine 1954, but I mean to include also any of my young Houston friends that you may encounter in your daily contacts.

1 Anderson (LL.B. Yale 1929), a colonel in the U.S. Army from 1942 until 1945, was a member of the Houston law firm of Baker, Botts, Andrews, and Shepherd. In March of 1953 he had served on a board of civilian consultants advising the National Security Council on the reconciliation of an adequate national defense system with a balanced federal budget (State, Foreign Relations, 1952-1954, vol. II, National Security Affairs, pt. 1, pp. 268-9, 273, 280).

2 Henry Finch Holland (LL.B. University of Texas 1936) had been a special assistant at the United States Embassy in Mexico City from 1942-1945 and a member of Anderson's law firm since 1945.

3 In his response, Anderson would praise Holland as a man of "unusual capability" and indicate that he was ready to accept the position (Anderson to Eisenhower, Jan. 11, 1953, AWF/D-H). "He knows the language, the laws, the history and the way of thinking south of the border about as well as any American I know," he wrote. After thanking Anderson for his assistance, Eisenhower would ask that he tell Holland how much he appreciated "his willingness to make the personal sacrifices that I know will be necessary" (Eisenhower to Anderson, Jan. 14, 1953, ibid.). The President would nominate Holland to the post on February 7, and the Senate would unanimously confirm the appointment on March 1 (see Kenneth J. Lipartito, and Joseph A. Pratt, Baker and Botts in the Development of Modern Houston [Austin, Tex., 1991]).

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Dillon Anderson, 9 January 1954. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 653. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/653.cfm

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