Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1917, Supplement 2, The World War, Volume I

File No. 841.51/83

The British Embassy to the Department of State ¹

[August 2, 1917,] [Received August 3, 1917.]

paraphrase of a telegram from mr. balfour dated august 2, 1917

I have informed His Majesty’s Government of what you say as to the great difficulty which the United States Government has to meet in presenting to Congress huge estimates of expenditure and justifying the details. Please assure Mr. McAdoo that we quite understand the difficulty of the position in the light of our own experience both in the present and the past.

Please explain that we will give every assistance in our power and are most desirous of giving all the information at our disposal.

We felt it our duty in the fullest possible manner to lay the financial position before the United States Government in order to enable them to form an accurate judgment of the full extent of the problem which has to be faced on behalf of the Allies. Please assure Mr. McAdoo that we are most grateful for the desire which he shows to be of assistance at this critical time in the great struggle.

We are in hopes that a temporary solution of the immediate difficulty as to exchange may be found in the repayment to us of the sums advanced by us for Russian expenditure in the United States since April 1.

1. Left with the Assistant to the Counselor for the Department of State (Auchincloss) by the British Ambassador. Note in file: “He will give original to Treas.”