811.711/854a: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Commission to Negotiate Peace
25. For the President from McCormick. A serious movement is on foot here to abolish forthwith all censorship insofar as the United States is concerned. While fully appreciating that there should be a material and progressive relaxation in censorship administration, I am equally clear that, prior to the abolition of censorship as a war measure, this whole problem should be made the subject of interallied discussion, presumably at Paris. The censorship has been one of the effective weapons for weakening Germany economically. Without censorship it would have been and would now be impracticable to prevent the strong commercial and financial groups in Germany from undertaking active and profitable operations through their branches in neutral countries at the expense of Allies and weaker neutral nations. With the abolition of censorship, we would remove a most potent influence for paralyzing German efforts at economic rehabilitation through financial and commercial operations abroad before the conclusion of peace. The censorship is thus one of the recognized blockade measures which all of the associated governments have been administering and which still constitutes a most important influence, particularly on the wealthier classes in Germany, the foreign connections of which are extensive and still maintained in large part. The elimination of censorship might appreciably lessen the importance particularly to this class in Germany of the speedy conclusion of a definitive peace. The terms of the armistice provide that blockade conditions shall remain unchanged, and it was certainly not contemplated that any one of the associated governments should during the period of the armistice abruptly and by independent action totally abandon an important blockade measure [Page 52] such as censorship. Were we to do so, it would in my opinion place us in an unfavorable light before our associates and we would lay ourselves open to the charge of hastening to secure a trade advantage through permitting the revival of enemy trade in our interest, and we would further be charged with desiring to shift to our associates the odium of maintaining an unpopular measure. If you concur in the view that the abolition of censorship should first be made the subject of interallied discussion in order that a common understanding may, if possible, be arrived at, I should appreciate your cabling me to this effect, as there is considerable doubt here as to your views, and I should like an expression thereof to show, if it seems necessary, to congressmen and other officials who would welcome an expression of your opinion.
Mr. Polk fully concurs with the foregoing view as to the unfortunate effect which independent action on our part at this time would have on our international relations.
While in my judgment the most important aspect of our proposed abolition of censorship is the effect which it would have on our international relations, it may be noted from a domestic standpoint that the Trading with the Enemy Act, which remains law, cannot be enforced without the aid of censorship and that the Alien Property Custodian is almost daily obtaining through censorship important information as to enemy-owned property not heretofore reported to him.