The Foreign Trade Adviser of the Department of State (Holder) to the Commercial Adviser of the British Embassy (Crawford)
My Dear Sir Richard: I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of April 18, 1916, in which you notify me that the Foreign Office has fixed May 15, 1916, as the date on which all permits for the uninterrupted shipment of goods of German and Austrian origin issued by the British authorities automatically lapse. The letter adds that “in the case of permits authorized since this year and still unutilized, it has been decided that they shall lapse on June 1 next, or two months from date of authorization, whichever is the longest period, unless otherwise provided.” In the case of some permits recently issued by the Foreign Office a period considerably less than two months is fixed for the validity of such permits.
In view of the present delays and difficulties experienced in sending mail or cable communications to Rotterdam and the freight congestion at the latter port due in part to the withdrawal of a number of boats from the Holland-America service and a recent strike on that line which held up sailings for some time, the period allowed American firms within which to obtain shipment from Rotterdam of these goods is a very short one, particularly as considerable amounts of these goods are still in Germany.
As the arrangement with the British authorities for the forwarding of such applications made no limitation as to the validity of permits issued as a result thereof, I trust that you will bring this information to the attention of the Foreign Office so that an extension [Page 527] of time will be allowed those firms who may be unable to obtain shipment of their goods within, the time specified.
Very truly yours,