File No. 195/114
The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 30, 11.30 a.m.]
7291. The shortage of tonnage and the demand made on England for fuel and other supplies by our forces in France have created an urgent situation requiring the coordination of the United States and British Government. General Pershing requires from England very large quantities of supplies including 150,000 tons of coal per month after February 1; while the British are already so short of [Page 626] steel and timber that they will not be able without assistance from the United States to render much help in maintaining our armies in Europe. The alternative would be a demand for ships to operate between the United States and Pershing’s French bases, greater than the remaining mercantile sea-going tonnage of the world can supply. I am informed that Pershing has requisitioned in America 51,000 tons of American shipping and at least one Norwegian vessel. General Lassiter1 here by requisitioning one American vessel and the assistance of Sims and British Admiralty, are [is] able temporarily to supply 30,000 tons monthly for coal and stores. Lassiter has under due authority arranged to charter several Norwegian steamers and this project has attracted the attention of the British Government which is understood to have made a proposal to Norway to mobilize by requisition all her deep-sea shipping and turn it over under Government charter to Great Britain. There are strong indications that this proposal is favorably considered by the Norwegian Government, which is of course dependent on British bunker coal for operation of its ships, and if the arrangement is made it will mean a preponderant portion of the remaining neutral shipping under control of the British Government, unless being entirely independent of the inter-Allied shipping pool we make some reciprocal arrangements with Great Britain. The effect of such Anglo-Norwegian project might prevent us from getting the shipping necessary for supplying our forces. If we bring all our coal and supplies from the United States and commandeer all available shipping there we may endanger the British needs. The English urgently need steel and timber; they require immediately about 50,000 tons of steel billets or plates and an unlimited amount of timber and they have asked us to ascertain whether they can secure from the United States during 1918, about 500,000 [tons] of steel and approximately 20,000,000 feet of timber. I am told that the French are also requiring large quantities of steel from the United States so that British dependence upon us would seem to be sufficiently defined to warrant the expectation of full reciprocity in apportioning steamship shipping under British control. All Allies’ shipping except our own is controlled by an Inter-Allied Chartering Executive in London and allocated by it. Considerable friction is developing with France and Italy because of the limited accredited shipping placed at their disposal and they are openly charging the executive with so manipulating ships as to keep the control in British hands. We should therefore make some reciprocal arrangement with the British alone by which, if we withdraw [Page 627] our own [plan] to charter Norwegian steamers, they will give us for cross-channel purposes at least an equal amount of shipping under their control or allocated to them. This procedure has been informally suggested here and it has been received with favor. It would therefore seem advisable that the United States Shipping Board and the State, War, and Navy Departments cooperate in formulating an immediate tonnage policy to be in direct contact with the British Admiralty but strictly to avoid adherence to the inter-Allied executive or any other tonnage pool. To assist such program I again urge that a responsible representative of the Shipping Board be sent to London and it seems necessary that the Embassy have the fullest detailed information concerning the Shipping Board program and its arrangements for requisitioning, insuring, and compensating owners of vessels. Lassiter informed me that Pershing has cabled to the War Department urging coordination in this matter.
There are in Spanish ports twenty-one Austrian steamers unable to sail on account of British blockade. A large American shipping interest incorporated in America has offered to purchase them outright with their own funds for a charter to this extent for army purposes, after transfer to the American flag. This operation would cost the company about $10,000,000 and would add 150,000 tons and place in our hands a most advantageous instrument in assuring full reciprocal arrangements with the British Government. The company’s proposal has been referred informally to the British Ministry of Shipping and to the Foreign Office who intimate they have no objections. Negotiations will be started immediately and I will keep you informed of their progress.1 Please instruct on whole shipping problem.
- Brig. Gen. William Lassiter, military attaché to the Embassy in Great Britain.↩
- These negotiations were dropped at the instance of the United States Shipping Board, in favor of other negotiations for the same ships which were being carried on in its behalf and which ran over into the following year to an unsuccessful termination. Papers relating to these negotiations are not printed.↩