Office of the Historian

File No. 658.119/724

The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in Great Britain ( Laughlin)

[Telegram]
Washington, December 17, 1918, 3 p.m.

3463. For Sheldon [from War Trade Board]:

No. 1836. Embassy’s 4446, December 9, 5 p.m., your 3032 [2032]. We will not formulate plan for handling resales of Swedish iron ore. We are about to turn over this entire matter to the Department of Commerce. That department will, in consultation with the necessary British and French authorities, take charge of all details in connection with our part of the purchase. In the meantime, there is no reason why you should not execute the agreement which we authorized in Department’s 2079 [2279], October 18, our 1444. In executing such agreement, do not overlook that phase of it which is set forth in Embassy’s 3001, October 22, 6 p.m., your 1723, and Department’s 2440, October 26, 4 p.m., our 1502.1

Polk

  1. According to telegram from Sheldon, No. 2877, Embassy’s No. 1696, April 10, 1919, the memorandum was delivered by him, satisfactory undertakings having been obtained from the British and French representatives in regard to the treatment of purchases as a whole and the pooling for equal distribution of the proceeds of resales (File No. 658.119/876; see also 853 and 862).

    In his telegram of May 2, 1919, No. 2956, Embassy’s 1956, Sheldon quoted from a letter received by him: “I am directed by the [Minister] of Munitions to refer to your letter relating to the resales of molybdenum concentrates and to inform you that so far as he is concerned he agrees in principle that the proceeds of any resales shall be pooled and divided equally between the United States and His Majesty’s Governments.” (File No. 658.119/894.)

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