File No. 763.72112/10609
The Minister in Switzerland (Stovall) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 1, 2.30 a.m.]
5490. For War Trade Board [from Heck1]:
No. 238. Your 394, Department’s 5976, October 22, 5 p.m., to McFadden. Refer to despatch from this Legation, No. 4379, September 3, 1918, transmitting note of Swiss Political Department dated August 31 concerning proposed black list, especially first paragraph.2 Am requested by members of inter-Ally commission to submit to you great desirability of having United States included in the joint official reply which would be presented by the French Embassy, Helsingborg [Switzerland?], in the name of the four Governments interested, in the form submitted to you by Stetson. Until this Swiss note of August 31, all negotiations concerning black list were conducted informally with the S[ociété] S[uisse de] S[urveillance Economique] and the probable effect of the proposed joint reply will be to have the negotiations restored to this informal basis of negotiations with S.S.S. Under instructions in War Trade Board 84, Department’s 2572, August 20,3 we strongly supported earlier representations made to S.S.S., and inter-Ally commission believes our representations would now be less valuable if only communicated orally. Heck.