File No. 763.72112/1088
The Consul General at London (Skinner) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 6.]
Sir: Referring to my despatch No. 369, dated April 7, 1915, enclosing an extract from the Times newspaper of April 6, indicating the character of the pressure being brought upon the Government to include cotton on the list of contraband of war, I have the honor to state that apparently the demand for this action is of no great importance in view of the determination of the British authorities to prevent cotton from reaching Germany through its blockade measures which, I may add, appear to be working with a good deal of precision.
To complete the record, I enclose a further article from the Times of April 19,1 containing a letter written on behalf of the Attorney General, in which it is stated that the blockade stops all articles, whether contraband or not, from reaching Germany, and a reply from Mr. W. S. Hopkins, the secretary of the conference of chemists and engineers, who appears not entirely satisfied, and demands a clear statement that cotton is not reaching Germany from any channel whatsoever.
I have [etc.]
- Not printed.↩