Walter Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers of America, in a letter addressed to Henry Cabot Lodge, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, transmitted the deep concern of the 2,500 delegates assembled here for the union’s 17th Constitutional Convention, over the question of free navigation in the Sues Canal for all nations, including Israel. He urged the United States delegation to “give firm and positive leadership in securing the necessary guarantees for the rights of free navigation in this crucial area.”
In his letter Mr. Reuther said: “Because of continued tension in the Middle East, I hasten to transmit to you the deep concern of our delegates about the question of guarantees for the rights of free navigation for all nations, including Israel, in the Suez Canal. In this respect we concur fully with a resolution adopted September 21, 1959, by the Third Constitutional Convention of the AFL-CIO in San Francisco.”
After quoting from the text of that resolution, Mr. Reuther continues: “I would be most grateful to you for your cooperation in transmitting this expression of our concern to the other members of the delegation. We urge that the United States delegation give firm and positive leadership in securing the necessary guarantees for the rights of free navigation in this crucial area. We know that the United States delegation will want to exercise its full and significant influence in winning the widest support among other maritime powers for this fundamental right to freedom of passage through the Suez Canal.”
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