File No. 195/167
The Commercial Adviser of the British Embassy ( Crawford) to the Counselor for the Department of State ( Polk)
[Received December 19.]
My Dear Mr. Polk: We have received a cable from London with regard to the urgent necessity of providing further tanker tonnage for the carriage of oil supplies between the United States and Great Britain. It appears that, owing to the very critical tonnage position for general cargo which will exist next month, the proposal has been made to stop the carriage of double-bottom loads of oil during January, in order that cereals may be loaded instead. This procedure will apparently have to be adopted in order to avoid a most critical situation in Great Britain in regard to the cereal supplies, but its effect on the oil supplies would be correspondingly serious, and the British Government contemplate with the most serious misgivings [Page 649] such a depletion of the Admiralty reserves of fuel oil, unless it should be possible for the United States Government to find, for immediate use, the extra tanker tonnage asked for. On this point the following conclusion was reached by the Inter-Allied Conference in Paris, at which Colonel House, Mr. McCormick and Mr. Colby were present:1
After a review of the present tonnage position and of the efforts being made by the European Allies it was agreed unanimously by the representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Italy and France that the annexed statement should be, in the name of the Inter-Allied Conference, presented to the United States Government as representing the claim which the situation makes upon America so far as regards her participation in the solution of the tonnage problem.
The annexed statement,1 to which reference is made above, includes the following passage:
Britain, in promising further assistance to the Allies to meet their increased cereal demands has done so in the hope that America will help with additional tank tonnage to the extent of rendering unnecessary the further uneconomical use of double bottoms in British cargo vessels for oil fuel for the Navy (100,000 tons a month). It is hoped that America will take steps to provide sufficient tank tonnage for this purpose and to meet the deficit in stocks by requisitioning tankers from their present commercial employment, 100,000 tons dead-weight being immediately required and a further 200,000 as soon as possible.
The document containing the above passage was handed by the Prime Ministers of France, Italy and Great Britain to Colonel House as an agreed statement by the shipping representatives of France, Italy, Great Britain and the United States, and copies are, I understand, now on their way to this country by mail.
It will be realised that, in order that the necessary arrangements may be made for cereal shipments and for required diversions of shipping, the British authorities need confirmation that the United States authorities will agree to execute the Paris agreement to its full extent, and that they will provide 100,000 tons dead-weight tank steamships for January loading, an amount which would approximately equal the amount shut out owing to the necessity, mentioned above, for stopping the double-bottom loads. It is most desirable, if it can possibly be so arranged, that definite confirmation of the agreement should be received in London not later than the 16th December.
Believe me [etc.]