File No. 763.72112/2715
The Acting Foreign Trade Adviser of the Department of State (Letcher) to Mr. Carl S. Stern
Sir: The receipt is acknowledged of your letter of July 7, 1916, addressed to the Secretary of State, in regard to the difficulty which the American exporter experiences in making shipments to Scandinavia.
This Government recognizes the right of American firms to ship goods, whether contraband or not, to neutral consignees in neutral countries. The Department, however, is informed that the steamship companies are refusing to accept various consignments of goods even though destined for neutral countries, and there is no power in this Department to require them to alter their decision. The Department has had no part in the arrangement announced by the British Embassy in the public press that it will assist American firms wishing to ship goods to Scandinavia by the issuance of letters of assurance, nor has it given its approval thereto.
[Page 500]The whole subject of interference with neutral trade and the circumstances that may have induced the steamship companies to assume their present attitude are being given the careful consideration of the Department.
Very truly yours,
[For the report from the Consul General at London, September 1, 1916 (received September 13), regarding a shipment of apples to Scandinavian countries, containing a denial by the British authorities of the allegations of undue delay in granting letters of assurance, see post, page 504.]