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President Harding to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I have your note of this morning91 respecting the Panama Canal tolls question and your inquiry for the letter to which Ambassador Harvey has made reference in telegraphic communication. The letter has not yet reached this office. I will be glad to place it at your disposal as soon as it comes.92
For your information, in discussing this question with the British Ambassador, I think it is well to say that it has been intended all along to make any modification of the present arrangement the subject of diplomatic discussion with Great Britain. The pending measure in Congress will likely receive the sanction of the Senate, because it has been maneuvered into a parliamentary situation which makes it impossible to avoid a vote on October 10th. I am very sure the matter will go no further than to receive a favorable vote in the Senate. I feel quite strongly that this may well be left as a matter for negotiation between Great Britain and the United States and has no place as an international problem before the Conference on the Limitation of Armament. At any rate, you may well postpone further discussion on the ground that you are awaiting additional information from the Executive.
Very truly yours,