File No. 841.731/344
The Consul at Göteborg ( Sauer ) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 11.]
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt to-day of Department’s cablegram of yesterday and to confirm my reply thereto, copies herewith, regarding the repetition by this office of commercial cablegrams to the Department.1
Before cabling to the Department asking for instructions in regard to this (despatch from this office, No. 80 of January 151), I asked the Consul General in Stockholm for his opinion. The Consul General appeared to be of the opinion that I should assist in the more pressing cases, and cable to the Department for instructions. I thought that under the extraordinary circumstances, there would be no objection thus to repeat lost commercial cables, provided it was done judiciously.
The trouble with the cable correspondence with the United States is explained in the despatches from this office No. 74 of December 31,1 No. 75 of January 5,1 No. 78 of January 9,1 No. 79 of January 11,2 and No. 80 of January 15.1 Since the last despatch, things have gone from bad to worse. In my despatch No. 75 of January 5, I stated that it appeared that only those Göteborg importers who re-export cotton to Germany have trouble with their cables to and from the United States. It now appears that all Göteborg importers, even the spinners, have the same trouble. Yesterday I learned that certain Göteborg exporters of wood pulp, the leading article of export from this port to the United States, were beginning to have the same trouble with their cables.
Referring to despatch No. 80 of January 15, I have the honor to state that the British commercial attaché here promised Lyon and Company to write to the Foreign Office, recommending that the cables of this firm be allowed to pass. To Mr. Lindelöf, despatch No. 78 of January 9, he would not promise anything. Mr. Lindelöf saw the attaché in company with a representative from a large spinning mill in Moscow, who is here to arrange for the purchase of 10,000 bales of American cotton. This representative, Mr. Knoop, told me that the attaché gave him to understand that he did not care whether he got any cotton or not. (See cablegram of yesterday re Skandia to Hannay, Frericks.1)
[Page 707]The importance of Göteborg as a transshipping point for cotton is seen by the large number of cotton steamers that arrived here since November 12 direct from the United States. (Seer despatch No. 76 of January 2.1)
I have [etc.]