458.11 Dexter and Carpenter/96
The Minister in Sweden (Morehead) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 30.]
Sir: With reference to the Department’s telegraphic instruction No. 21, of September 16, 5 p.m., and in confirmation of the Legation’s telegram No. 32, of September 17, 4 p.m.,15 relating to the Dexter and Carpenter claim, I have the honor to report that Mr. Haight arrived in Stockholm on the morning of September fifteenth without having made any appointment with either the head of the firm of attorneys representing his clients in Sweden or with anyone in the Foreign Office, and that he departed on the same day to return to the United States where he expects to arrive early in October.
Mr. Haight called at the Legation and conferred with me for about an hour, during the course of which he outlined the case from its inception and supplied me with considerable data not previously available to the Legation. Upon leaving he left with me copies of the Brief submitted on behalf of Dexter and Carpenter as defendant appellee before the Circuit Court of Appeals, as judgment creditor appellant before the Circuit Court of Appeals and a Reply Brief as judgment creditor appellant before the Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Haight, who had previously called at the office of Mr. Löfgren, his Swedish attorney, and had there conferred with Mr. Rogard, a junior partner, expressed surprise at the absence of Mr. Löfgren, who is at present on the Riviera and is not expected to return until about October tenth, and stated that he had informed Mr. Löfgren of his intended visit and expected to find him here upon his arrival. He stated confidentially that he felt that everything possible had been done up to the present and that the best method of approach would be by informal conversations between Mr. Löfgren and Professor Östen Undén, who as the Department is aware is acting as the legal adviser to the Swedish Government in the matter, and with Baron Ramel, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He informed me definitely that Dexter and Carpenter could not accept the suggestion of the Swedish Government to institute action in the Swedish courts in view of the number of years of litigation already involved in the case and the obvious difficulties in the way of producing American witnesses at such a great distance, and so forth.
Mr. Haight apparently did not desire to discuss the matter with any officials of the Foreign Office and stated that he had several other engagements of another nature to look after during the course of [Page 1018] the day. He said that he was leaving in the evening for Norway and England and would return to the United States arriving early in October.
Upon receipt of your cable today, I spoke by telephone with Mr. Rogard, of Mr. Löfgren’s office, with regard to the case and was informed that Mr. Haight had stated that he would have a further conference with the Department upon his return to the United States and that he would then communicate further instructions to Mr. Löfgren, but that he apparently desired no action to be taken at the present.
In view of the absence in Geneva of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and of the fact that Mr. Haight failed to get in touch with Mr. Löfgren during his very brief stay in Stockholm, I therefore have deemed it inopportune to communicate with the Foreign Office in the sense of the Department’s telegraphic instruction No. 21, of September 16, under reference, and have consequently informed the Department in my telegram No. 32 of today that I shall withhold action unless otherwise instructed.
I am sailing from Cherbourg for the United States on the Bremen October second and shall call at the Department soon after my arrival in order to confer in person with the Department upon the case. Confidentially I feel that, although Mr. Löfgren is convinced of the strength of the position of Dexter and Carpenter in this case, he is not sufficiently conversant with all the details in the matter to present his case in the most efficacious manner. I greatly regret the fact that Mr. Haight was unable to arrange his visit to Stockholm to coincide with Mr. Löfgren’s presence here or with that of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and also that he was apparently unable to devote more than a few hours in this city. I believe it highly desirable that I should have a conference with the Department and a further conference, if possible, with Mr. Haight before making further representations to the Swedish Government. In any event, I believe that such representations should await the return of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
I shall communicate with the Department further concerning the date of my probable arrival in Washington.
Respectfully yours,
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