File No. 763.72/8559
I am verbally informed by the secretary general of this committee
that it is very much hoped that an announcement may be made at the
next meeting to be held on January 12, of the decision which the
American Government takes in this matter.
[Enclosure—Translation]
The French Minister of Blockade
(
Lebrun) to the American Ambassador (
Sharp)
Mr. Ambassador: At the first
conference of the Allied Powers, held at Paris, March 27 and 28,
1916,1 it was resolved that a permanent committee be
established whereon all the Allied Governments would be
represented and the object of which would be to “reinforce,
coordinate and unify the economic action which is to be exerted
with a view to preventing the revictualling of the enemy.”
Pursuant to this resolution, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
proceeded to organize the International Permanent Committee of
Economic Action, which, since June 20 of the same year, meets
periodically at No. 33 rue Jean Goujon, under the presidency,
first, of the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and,
subsequently, of the Minister of Blockade. The researches and
deliberations of the said meeting result in the adoption of
resolutions which are recommended to the consideration of the
Allied Governments, which reserve the right to decide whether
they deem advisable or not to accept them and put them into
effect.
The Governments which, at the outset, were invited to be
represented on the committee, that is to say, Belgium, Great
Britain, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Russia, and Serbia, have
appointed representatives who, later, were joined by the
Roumanian delegate. My predecessors have requested Your
Excellency kindly to bring about a similar decision on the part
of the Washington Cabinet. I would be much obliged if you would
urge upon your Government the participation henceforth of one or
two American delegates in the work of the committee.
It is needless for me to point out here the very serious
usefulness of such a collaboration from the American point of
view, as well as from that of ourselves and our allies; it
would, in fact, bring about the coordination necessary for the
preparation of measures which, in order to produce their full
effect, require a complete simultaneity in all the different
countries interested, and would thus contribute to assuring the
efficacy of the action of the Allies against the common enemy.
In accordance with such considerations, the Federal Government
has just decided, in the course of the conference recently held
at Paris, to send a special delegate to the International
Commission on Contingents; there would therefore seem, as Your
Excellency will [Page 944]
doubtless agree, to be no difficulty about taking similar action
in regard to the committee in question.
Accept [etc.]
A. Lebrun
Paris
, December 17,
1917.