File No. 656.119/196a

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page)

[Telegram]

6709. For Sheldon [from War Trade Board]:

The Dutch are pleading inability on account of German threats to live up to that portion of provisional agreement which provides that for each ship sent to Holland in the service of Belgian Relief a corresponding vessel is to leave Holland for the United States and [Page 1398] in this connection the Netherlands Minister read McCormick a cable from his Government stating that Germany had notified them that if the effort were made to send such corresponding vessel from Holland for each ship sent to Holland in such service the Germans would take steps to prevent. In addition to foregoing, Shipping Board and this Board have experienced great difficulty in getting Dutch shipowners to charter any ships for employment to Cette for Switzerland, and in this behalf the Netherlands Minister suggested in an interview on Monday with McCormick and other members of this Board that irrespective provisional agreement it was necessary to obtain the consent of shipowners to Cette chartering. While the Netherlands Minister is asking time for his Government to secure withdrawal of foregoing German threat, we are strongly of the opinion that Holland will not live up to her agreement to cause a corresponding vessel to leave Holland for each ship sent to Holland in the service of the Belgian Relief. In addition to constituting a breach of the provisional agreement, this action substantially lessens the value of the agreement to us and may and probably will result in the passing from our control during the continuance of the provisional agreement of a large percentage of the total Holland tonnage now in our ports. We have discussed with the Shipping Control Committee the question as to whether it is not advisable under these circumstances to requisition the Dutch shipping now under our control approximating 400,000 tons upon the ground that Holland’s attitude in the face of the German threat makes us feel that we can have no assurance of her being able or being allowed to carry out the terms of the provisional agreement and suggesting that we shall be glad to go ahead with them upon the negotiations for furnishing them their required supplies and for bunkering their ships. We believe that if we acquiesce in the proposed general shipping agreement with Holland which gives us no tonnage in the war zone that the same treatment will be demanded by Sweden and insisted upon by Denmark and that as a result we will be short of tonnage for the war zone during the next few months. It is our hope that even if we do requisition Holland tonnage now under our control such action on our part will not preclude the possibility of securing in negotiation substantial tonnage from Holland for the safe zone in exchange for our rations and bunker licenses. We are further of the opinion that this is our last opportunity to requisition any substantial Dutch tonnage because when the ships once get out upon their various voyages no large percentage of the present tonnage will ever be in our harbors or under our control again at the same time and there is an undercurrent of feeling here that it was for this very reason that [Page 1399] Holland entered upon the provisional agreement. Pending your reply and the answer of the Foreign Office to a similar cable being sent today by the British representatives here, the Shipping Board has postponed all Dutch sailings. It is vitally important that the movement of these ships should not be delayed a moment longer than is necessary to reach a determination and we beg that you will get into immediate touch with the British authorities and cable us as promptly as possible.

Lansing