File No. 871.51/65
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page )
5615. Following from the Secretary of the Treasury:
Referring to a conference to be held by the representatives of Great Britain, France, Russia and Roumania on the 18th of October, in London, to treat on Roumanian affairs, you are requested to have some one of your staff attend such meeting only in the capacity of [Page 731] learning what the representatives of the Governments above named have to say, and report the same to this Government. You may also make known to the conference the fact that the Secretary of the Treasury is prepared to lend the Roumanian Government at once $5,000,000 for the purchase of certain materials which have been requested to be sent to that Government by our Minister at Jassy, and that the Secretary of the Treasury is further prepared to make additional loans of approximately $4,000,000 per month, assuming Great Britain and France will make equal subventions, in order to assure Russian food supplies to Roumania, in case it should be recognized by English and French representatives that Russia is unable directly to furnish these supplies, and take Roumanian payment for the same without the intervention of other belligerents. The Secretary of the Treasury is further considering an additional list of requirements submitted to this Government through Minister Vopicka in recent telegrams, but no action can be indicated at this date since the cost of such supplies has not yet been calculated, nor is it known to what extent the materials can be spared from this country, or whether transportation will be available in time to meet the Roumanian situation, even if the finance question were considered as settled.
It should further be pointed out that as yet no Roumanian representative has been given powers to sign obligations of that Government such as are required by the statutes of the United States under which the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make loans to foreign governments engaged in war against Germany. Full explanation concerning this matter was given to Ambassador Francis about three months ago, but as yet no satisfactory response has ever been received from the Roumanian Government on this point.