Carlton Hayes was the US ambassador in Madrid. A prominent historian in civilian life, Hayes was tapped in part because he was a devout Catholic and would be able to get along with Franco’s government. Hayes was proud of his work with refugees and with Allied airmen escaping across the French border into Spain. In January 1943, he felt there were simply too many relief organizations trying to operate, so he insisted on the selection of one representative who would be in charge of the administrative and financial operations of all American relief organizations in Spain, operating attached to the embassy in Madrid. It was actually not that different from the WRB setup—an accredited person in charge of refugee operations in a given country. In Madrid, a year before the creation of the WRB, Hayes selected David Blickenstaff, the representative of the American Friends Service Committee and the Brethern Service Committee (both peace churches on the religious left).
Hayes thought this was enough, thank you very much. There was no need to approach the Spanish government and inform them of the new American policies and certainly no need for a WRB representative in Spain. Read this, and remember that this is the nicest cable Hayes will ever send the WRB.
