File No. 763.72112/3176
The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page ) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 28, 8.15 a. m.]
5219. To the Secretary and the President:
I fear my telegram 5169, November 16, 6 p. m., did not make the situation clear. I have striven to bring about a willingness to settle by exchange of courtesies many of our differences with the British Government with which legal controversy is at a standstill. Please refer to the memorandum about British feeling which I left with you and the President.2 I have hoped that this method may succeed in very considerably lessening our docket. The black list happens to be the first concrete item in this general plan.
[Page 487]I have convinced the British Government that the black list has had a universally bad effect on American opinion which may outlast any of us who now have to do with it, and that whatever their intentions were, it would be received in the United States as a discourteous disregard of American feeling. They have declared, I am sure with truth, that they had no such intent, and they are ready to make amends on a basis of high courtesy between principals. In effect they say that if our Government will come here in the person of some distinguished legal representative sent for this specific purpose, they will go the furthest they can to remove the trouble. The mass of evidence on which they proceeded is here, not in Washington. They wish, moreover, personally to explain how they came to make a black list in the United States, with the hope of convincing us that they had no intention to offend us. They told me they had it in mind, since this is not a partisan subject, to ask me to ascertain whether Mr. Root might not come. They wish to see the most eminent American lawyer who knows the Department that our Government will send. I feared possible embarrassment to you if Root were invited, and explained that Polk had handled the subject from the beginning and is an important trained officer of the administration, and they agreed with me that this suggestion was better.
They intimate that they wish not only to go over the papers in this particular subject, but personally to explain their aims and methods. What they ask for is in effect a sort of friendly conference between the two Governments, and an exchange of courtesies and a reassurance of friendly intent. Polk will meet all important members of the Cabinet, will have frank and even intimate conversations with them, and the talk will inevitably take in other subjects of controversy and possible ways of making the whole situation better. I can not promise or guarantee definite results in general, but results of the greatest importance are inherent in the situation if it be properly handled.
It is this level of (procedure?) that I have striven for for months. They have made the first move. If we decline to meet them on this basis the effect may be somewhat discouraging. They may construe our answer as a declination of a courteous and kindly proposal which, if accepted, may lead to further amelioration of the present attitude of the two Governments.
I again respectfully express the hope that Polk may come. If not, can you give me a suggestion to meet the situation.