File No. 656.119/652h
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Great Britain ( Laughlin )
112. For Sheldon [from War Trade Board]:
No. 814. Please consult with Taylor and Allied authorities upon the following points. Reference is made to the following cablegrams: [Page 1509] Department’s 8486, June 28, 4 p.m., our 736, and Department’s 8397, June 22 [24], noon, our 719. The proposal to offer the Netherlands a two months’ ration has been discussed with the British Embassy. In the course of this discussion, it was stated that the British Minister at The Hague was opposed to the offer of a two months’ ration to the Netherlands, the reason for such opposition being that he thinks it advisable to expedite as much as possible the conclusion of a general agreement with the Netherlands Government. It seems to be felt by him that an offer of a two months’ ration to Holland might prejudice, or at least seriously delay, the conclusion of a general agreement. It is further emphasized by the British Minister at The Hague that the Dutch are now exporting to the Central Powers early potatoes, horses, cheese, and cattle, and our ability to prevent such exports would be further limited by granting the modus vivendi suggested in our 736 of June 28.
For your guidance in discussing this question, we wish to state that we do not feel there is any great difference between our own views and those stated above, so far as the objects to be achieved are concerned. We are of course heartily in favor of an early conclusion of a general agreement with the Netherlands and we call your attention to the fact that in our 719 we stated that the offer to the Netherlands should be made only if there were no prospect of coming to an immediate agreement. The main considerations in favor of an offer of a modus vivendi to the Netherlands were:
- (1)
- The creation of friendly feelings toward us on the part of the Dutch people and the bringing home to the Dutch people that any failure to secure foodstuffs in their ships now in Dutch ports was chargeable entirely to the attitude of the German Government;
- (2)
- The necessity of taking steps immediately to oppose and to test the effectiveness of the new German prize-court regulations;
- (3)
- Notwithstanding our present embargo and the pending negotiations for a general agreement, Holland is still continuing exports to Germany; and it is thought that the offer of rations would make the situation no worse, but on the contrary might be sufficient to secure from the Dutch Government a guarantee against exports to Germany for the period of the modus vivendi, and until the conclusion of the general agreement.
We wish that you and Taylor would discuss this matter thoroughly with the Allied authorities and advise us whether you feel that the desirability of maintaining the embargo in full force, and thus expediting the conclusion of the general agreement, outweighs the considerations enumerated above.