File No. 763.72119/196
The Chargé in Germany ( Grew ) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 13, 7.20 p. m.]
4724. Referring to my 4722, December 12, noon. The Spanish Ambassador called on me shortly after we had seen the Chancellor separately this morning, and said in the course of informal conversation that the Chancellor’s offer to enter into peace negotiations had come as a surprise to him and that when he was summoned to the Chancellor he thought it likely that the latter was going to announce a resumption of the indiscriminate submarine warfare. He said that he thought it improbable that the enemy governments would accept the Chancellor’s offer to enter into peace negotiations, and in that case he believed that there would be a radical change in German policy involving a reopening of the ruthless submarine activity in the near future.