File No. 763.72111N83/59
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Norway ( Schoenfeld)
441. Your 1038, August 20, 6 p.m. You are instructed to deliver the following note to the Minister of Foreign Affairs:
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s note of August 20, the text of which I immediately telegraphed to my Government. I am now instructed to communicate to Your Excellency my Government’s reply.
The Government of the United States has given careful consideration to the Norwegian Government’s note of the 20th August and has noted especially the request for more detailed information in regard to cases of violation of the territorial waters of Norway by German submarines.
[Page 1783]In view of the fact that in the present war the operations of the naval forces of the United States, excepting certain units cooperating with the British Grand Fleet, have been confined to waters far distant from the coasts of Norway, the Government of the United States is unable to furnish the desired information based upon the direct observation and personal knowledge of American officers. Nevertheless, since the naval forces of the United States are in constant and intimate association with the naval forces of the Entente Powers, the naval activities of the Central Powers coming to the knowledge of the Entente authorities are immediately communicated to the naval authorities of the United States, and the information thus received is considered to be as reliable as if it had been obtained by American officers.
In view of the fact that the British Government have furnished to the Norwegian Government concrete cases and definite information of violations of Norwegian territorial waters by German submarines, the Government of the United States does not think it would serve any good purpose to repeat this detailed information since, its source of knowledge being the same as that of the Norwegian Government, it could add nothing to the facts already in the possession of the Norwegian Government.
The Government of the United States is also advised that the Norwegian Government has been informed that the Governments of the United States and Great Britain are engaged in laying a barrage across that portion of the North Sea lying between Scotland and Norway, which when completed will effectively prevent the passage of enemy submarines to and from the Atlantic Ocean by the northern route through the North Sea provided that they are not permitted illegal passage through the territorial waters of Norway.
The Norwegian Government cannot be unmindful of the fact that in the prosecution of the war being waged against the Central Powers the Government of the United States is transporting across the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of thousands of troops and immense quantities of supplies and munitions for their maintenance and use. Possessed of this knowledge the Norwegian Government must perceive that so long as German submarines are permitted to pass unmolested through the coastal waters of Norway into the Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea, the military forces of the United States, the supplies necessary for their subsistence, and the munitions required for their operations will be, while upon the high seas, in serious danger of submarine attack and destruction.
In view of the menace to American interests which will result from the free passage of submarines through the territorial waters of Norway, the Government of the United States believes that the Norwegian Government will realize the obligation which rests upon it to prevent by every means in its power the passage of German submarines through waters within the jurisdiction of Norway. Furthermore it cannot fail to realize that if Norwegian waters are used by belligerent submarines as a rendezvous whence they can freely pass into the Atlantic Ocean for hostile purposes the waters so used may justly be considered a base of naval operations, the establishment of which within Norwegian jurisdiction the Government of the [Page 1784] United States believes to be entirely contrary to the will and intention of the Government of Norway.
In the circumstances the Government of the United States most earnestly urges the Norwegian Government to take all necessary steps to prevent a situation which might cause serious embarrassment to both Governments which would be deeply regretted by the Government of the United States as it has only the most friendly feeling for the Government and people of Norway and is desirous to prevent as well as to remove all causes of difference affecting the good relations of the two countries in their intercourse with each other.