The State Department had today the caustic refusal of the United States Conference of Mayors to attend the congress of the International Union of Local authorities in Berlin on June 7, but it was indicated that the letter would not be transmitted to German Ambassador Hans Luther.
The letter, written by Mayor LaGuardia of New York, cited a previous unofficial decision of the conference not to attend the meeting and declared, “It seems rather paradoxical for municipal authorities to gather for the purpose of discussing local self-government in a country where all local self-government has been completely obliterated.”
Ambassador Luther quieted rumors that the letter would give rise to an international incident similar to that which ensued when Mayor LaGuardia refused a masseur’s license to a German. Luther indicated he would take no official notice of the letter unless the State Department forwarded it to him.
Mayor LaGuardia said in his letter the conference’s action was taken “for the same reason which prompted the London County Council to refuse to participate.” It was recalled that the London council had scored suppression of local self-government in Germany and the Reich’s anti-Semitic policy.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
