File No. 861.48/408
The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 8, 4.20 a.m.]
7623. Your 5735, November 6, 4 p.m. Conference 6th November, at which this Embassy was represented, included Sir Adam Block of Finance Section of Ministry of Blockade and representatives of Foreign Office, War Office, Treasury, Censorship, and Colonial Office representing Dominions. Block drew attention to inconsistency of attempt to enforce financial blockade against Germany and to de press the value of the German mark while allowing large sums to go to enemy-occupied countries in form of relief. Estimated this year at from £300,000 to £500,000 through England to Poland alone. Great uncertainty whether these sums go to proper recipient as even when recipients [receipts] are returned these are often only signed by a cross. Payments even when duly made are probably in Poland either [in] marks at great discount or paper rubles, of which large numbers are supposedly printed by Germans.
Following plan suggested:
- (1)
- No general relief to be allowed.
- (2)
- No general licenses for sending remittances to be granted.
- (3)
- No licenses for any remittances direct or indirect to any one other than a subject of the remitting country to be granted except with the sanction in each case of the government of that country at war with Central Powers of which beneficiary is [Page 522] citizen, government of remitting country to retain full discretion as to granting and conditions of licenses, remittances to be sent via England, and channels of communication to be used which are under control of British censorship.
- (4)
- If these suggestions are approved here, it would appear desirable to invite the United States and Dominion Governments to adopt similar procedure and to ask them to arrange that licenses, remittances, and communications relating thereto be sent by channel controlled by British censorship and in such a manner as will secure identification and control. The United States Government would be invited to appoint a representative here to cooperate and advise with censors in England regarding control of such remittances and correspondence.
These suggestions only tentative and have not yet been acted upon by this Government, which would appreciate an expression of your opinion of their feasibility and desirability. They would only apply to enemy occupied countries and not, for example, to Polish refugees in other parts of Russia.