462.00R296/3983a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Great Britain ( Atherton )
165. Some time tomorrow the Secretary of the Treasury should reach London. He is arriving on the Mauretania. It will be possible to reach Mr. Mellon at Claridges Hotel or through the Guaranty Trust Company, Pall Mall Branch, in London. Without fail please make sure that the following confidential message from the Treasury Department reaches him tomorrow. You may find it advisable to get in touch with him on the Mauretania when it docks, in order to make sure of his address. You had better have him met at the Mauretania with a copy of this message if you have time.
The situation in Austria and Germany, from all the information we have, appears to be more critical than when you left. The situation is, however, still obscure. Your appraisal of the situation as it appears in London will be appreciated by the President. He will also appreciate your advice as to whether the time has come in your judgment to proceed along the lines we discussed. In spite of the inadequacy of our information, Young,28 Gilbert,29 and Harrison feel that we should. It has been decided by the President to postpone any action until he has had an opportunity to consult opposition leaders and until he hears from you. Harrison has been in constant communication with Norman, who is extremely pessimistic. On Sunday McGarrah30 cabled that his information from Berlin [Page 20] indicated that the Reichsbank had the situation well in hand and that the situation is not critical. For your confidential information Stimson talked to MacDonald by phone and asked whether we could do anything to help and how serious the situation was. MacDonald was not, I understand, very definite on either point. It would be well perhaps for you to see MacDonald. Of course you will see Norman. The President returns to Washington Thursday from his trip out West. Mills.