800.8810/1117
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs (Hickerson)
The attached memorandum7 was received from the German Embassy at noon today. At 10:20 this morning Dr. Leitner, Counselor of the Embassy, telephoned Mr. Moffat8 and communicated to him the substance of this memorandum, with the request that it be brought immediately to the attention of the Shipping Board, since a meeting was to be held in the Shipping Board at 10:30 this morning to consider the matter.
At Mr. Moffat’s request I got in touch with the Shipping Board immediately by telephone and talked first to Mr. Thomas in the Regulatory Division and later with Admiral Cone, Chairman of the Shipping Board, communicating to them the German Embassy’s suggestion that the meeting called for today be postponed or, if that was impossible, that no definite action should be taken at this meeting since the subject will [Page 472] be thoroughly discussed at the Brussels meeting of the Trans-Atlantic Passenger Conference. Admiral Cone informed me that it would be impossible to postpone the meeting scheduled for this morning, particularly since the persons to take part in the meeting were already in his room. He stated that the purpose of the meeting this morning in the Shipping Board was strictly fact-finding, and that they did not plan to take definite action today. He added that the German lines would be given ample opportunity to present their side of the case prior to any definite action in this matter by the Shipping Board.
At 10:30 this morning Mr. Moffat communicated to Dr. Leitner over the telephone the substance of Admiral Cone’s remarks.