Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1900

Mr. White to Mr. Hay.

Embassy of the United States,
Berlin, March 24, 1900.

No. 1214.]

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge your instruction No. 1017 of March 8, inclosing copy of a letter from the Secretary of Agriculture regarding changes in the German meat inspection bill; have noted the contents of both, and shall carefully bear them in mind.

You will have observed from my previous dispatches that the new bill, virtually prohibiting the importation of American meat products, which was so triumphantly carried through its second reading in Parliament several days ago, is not progressing so rapidly and smoothly as the Agrarians and their allies evidently expected, and as an indication of the “sober second thought,” which is holding the whole matter back, and which seems likely to lead to some tolerable modus vivendi, I inclose an extract from the “Vossische Zeitung,” giving an account of recent protests from various German chambers of commerce against the bill and showing that such expressions from these influential bodies in all parts of the Empire, and representing enormous industrial and commercial interests, are almost unanimous.

I desire to express my thanks to the Department for leaving representations to the German Government on this general subject, for the present, to my discretion. While I have not thought it best of late to worry the foreign office with pictures of the ill results of the bill, regarding which they are already indoctrinated, I have not hesitated to hint strongly, even to the Emperor himself, the natural results to German commerce of legislation prohibiting the importation of our agricultural products. I have never hesitated to press the subject, at the foreign office or elsewhere at what seemed to me the right moment, and this course, with your permission, I shall continue. I have taken some pains to avoid showing too much zeal, but many opportunities are offered in social gatherings of various sorts, so frequent at this season, to meet ministers of the Empire and of the Prussian Monarchy, members of the Imperial Parliament, and of the Prussian legislature, as well as other influential persons, and from time to time, and as the subject has come up, without ever indulging in any threats or taking any truculent attitude whatever, I have, by a question here and an observation there—sometimes serious and sometimes humorous—sought to suggest trains of thought which would lead to a just consideration of the subject. As regards the foreign office, my conviction is that the chancellor and minister of foreign affairs are already fully aware of the dangers involved in the proposed legislation, and that with suitable statements to them from time to time they will be led to do all in their power for a proper adjustment of the whole matter.

I am, etc.,

And. D. White.

[Inclosure.—Translation.]

[“Vossische Zeitung,” evening edition, Berlin, March 20, 1900,]

To the protest meeting of the elders (Aeltesten) of the Berlin Merchants’ Association against the prohibition of importing meat, several declarations of approval have lately been received. At this protest meeting, of 145 German chambers of commerce, merchants’ corporations, and similar corporations of an official character, 43 were personally represented, and 86 have approved of the resolutions in writing or by telegraph. Of the remaining 16, two (Zittau and Schopfheim) have refused to participate, but at the same time have declared themselves to be indisputable opponents of the meat importation prohibition; five have left their position in doubt, as with most of them it was impossible to pass a resolution before the 18th instant; eight have decidedly refused to participate in the protest, whereby, however, Dortmund alone expressed itself positively as opposing the demonstration. The elders of the chamber of commerce of Gottingen have left the invitation entirely unanswered. This, therefore, is an almost unanimous expression of all official industrial and commercial representatives of Germany. Two free (freie) industrial corporations (of mines in Aachen and “kermanische” in Koburg) have declared their acquiescence without invitation.