800.51W89/6762/7

Memorandum by the Secretary of State of a Telephone Conversation11

I telephoned the Governor and told him I had called him for the purpose of keeping him in close touch with exactly what I was doing, as I wanted to be sure there was no misunderstanding as to each step taken. He said fine. I told him that immediately after my talk with him yesterday, the Italian Ambassador had come in and I had made a similar statement to him as I had to the British and had sent him an aide-mémoire12 of which the material language was exactly like that of the British;13 that since that time the Czechoslovakian and Lithuanian [representatives] had come in and had been similarly treated and I expected the Latvian representative, their Consul General in New York, who had to come from a distance, later.14 I said that these four and Great Britain constituted all who had paid their installments and made requests; that, however, Finland had paid but had not yet made [Page 832] any request for a discussion of debts. He laughed and said they will be along very soon, and I replied that they probably would. I told him I would send him copies of the aide-mémoires, and he said all right.

The Governor then said he had been asked by the press about the Italians and had informed them. I told him I intended to give to the press this afternoon what had been done by the others inasmuch as it was sure to leak out. He said all right, to go ahead.

H[enry] L. S[timson]
  1. Between President-elect Roosevelt at Warm Springs, Ga., and the Secretary of State at Washington, January 24, 1933, 2:50 p.m.
  2. Post, p. 888.
  3. Ante, p. 828.
  4. For the aide-mémoire sent to the Czechoslovakian, Lithuanian, and Latvian representatives, respectively, see pp. 853, 898, and 893.