Office of the Historian

File No. 103.9502/16

The British Ambassador ( Spring Rice) to the Secretary of State

No. 563
Washington, December 3, 1917.
[Received December 5.]

Sir: The delegates of your Government now in Europe held a number of detailed discussions with the Government in London [Page 642] in regard to the control of tonnage. These conferences resulted in the drawing up of certain resolutions which have since been very fully considered by the British War Cabinet and have now been approved by them.

I have the honour, under instructions from my Government, to communicate these resolutions to you and to invite the assent of the Government of the United States to them.

A. Control and Allocation of Tonnage Available to the Allies

1.
The committee are not in favour of creating an international executive committee to control and allocate all the shipping available to the Allies.
2.
The committee are in favour of the appointment of a British representative of the Ministry of Shipping who should go to America to act in an advisory capacity and the similar appointment of an American representative of the United States Shipping Board who should come to London to act in a similar capacity.
3.
Each Government, i. e., British and American, should decide on its own responsibility whether it desires to invite similar representatives from the other allies to constitute an advisory committee in each country.
4.

The United States and France and Italy and Great Britain should all tabulate to each other a statement showing in detail and as nearly as possible in the same form each class of requirements for which tonnage is needed, and secondly, tonnage now available and likely to be available in future through new building, etc. These requirements, having been classified (showing the source of supply, etc.) and having been adjusted so as—

(a)
To secure a reasonably uniform standard adequate both as between classes of commodities and as between countries, and
(b)
To bring the total within the carrying capacity of the Allies as a whole,

would form the basis on which the general allocation of tonnage would be determined. The calculation would be revised at convenient intervals in the light of losses, new building, war requirements and other factors in the problem; but it would be an essential feature of the scheme that, subject to such periodic re-allocation, each nation should manage and supervise the tonnage under its control.

B. Use of Neutral Tonnage

1.
The United States, France, Italy and Great Britain should agree that neutral and interned tonnage obtainable through any other channel and by whatever country should be used in such a way as to increase by an equal extent tonnage in direct war services, the extra tonnage being allotted so far as practicable to the most urgent war need of any of the Allies. The method of allocation must be worked out later and it is important that the principle [Page 643] should be recognised that it is the urgency of war needs and not the method by which the tonnage has been obtained that should be the criterion.
2.
Steps should be taken to bring into war service all possible further tonnage such as in South America, etc.
3.
Control of cargoes carried to be such that they satisfy the most urgent war needs in respect of the sea tonnage allotted.
4.
Dutch tonnage. The committee express the hope that the United States Government will seriously consider the possibility of requisitioning the Dutch vessels now sheltering in American harbours.

I am instructed by my Government to express the hope that the United States Government may be able to return an early reply to these proposals.

I have [etc.]

Cecil Spring Rice