Messrs. Armour & Co to Walker Blaine, May 18, 1881

Messrs. Armour & Co. to Mr. Blaine.

Sir: We beg to call your attention to the inclosed cable dispatch received by us to-day from Messrs. Seignouret Frères of Bordeaux, by which you will see that the efforts being made, by those interested in the importation of American meats into France are being seriously hampered and offset by the circulation of false reports in that country respecting the situation of affairs here.

We have for some time, through our agents in Havre, Marseilles, and Bordeaux, been engaged in some effective work, we think, in bringing about the repeal, or at least the modification, of the prohibitory decree of £he 18th February last; and as the prompt action taken by yourself in denial of the erroneous statements current about that time were of the utmost value in modifying the original decree, whereby all meats shipped from this country before issuance of the decree were permitted entrance, we now take the liberty to suggest that an official denial be made of the existence of any newspaper articles of the kind mentioned in the inclosed cable dispatch.

Friends of the American meat trade all over France are, we know, meeting with every possible obstacle in their efforts to effect the repeal of this decree, and any official assistance you may see fit to render them by the denial of false rumors will, of course, be of the very greatest value.

Messrs. Seignouret Frères, from whom the inclosed cable dispatch was received by us, are by far the largest dealers in and importers of American meats in France, and have been ever since this prohibitory order was issued unremitting in their exertions toward its repeal.

Confident of your sympathy with the general effort being made to relieve the commercial public, equally with the agricultural interests of this country now suffering from the effects of this prohibitory decree of the French Government, and soliciting your valuable co-operation at this time,

We have, &c,