711.4215 Air Pollution/571½
The Minister in Canada (Robbins) to the Under Secretary of State (Phillips)
[Received December 7.]
My Dear Bill: I received your letter of November 30th yesterday, December 3rd, and immediately made an appointment with the Prime [Page 964] Minister whom I saw in the morning. I presented your letter to him and after he had read it carefully I expressed to him my anxiety as to when he could send a representative to Washington with a draft which might serve as a basis for discussion of a final settlement of the Trail Smelter case.
He did not seem particularly willing to comply with this request to my surprise, in view of the assurances that he gave to you in his library in my presence, and I imagine that some harm was done by the visit of Mr. Warren, President of the Trail Smelter, who was summoned by the Prime Minister and who only arrived in Ottawa after your departure. The Prime Minister took the attitude, which I think was given to him by Warren, that as the findings of the Joint Commission, suggested by the representatives of the United States and Canada, had not been accepted by the people of the State of Washington the issue should no longer be considered international. The Prime Minister expressed some doubt as to his being able to urge the Smelter people to change their point of view. He did seem willing, however, to send Read and possibly Dr. Skelton to Washington.
I reminded him of the letters from the Governor of the State of Washington and Representative Sam Hill, which you will remember you read to him. He seemed somewhat irate as to Hill’s letter and remarked that Hill had practically accused him personally of blowing foul fumes down the valley through the State of Washington. In the hope of making him decide at least to send Read and Skelton down to Washington at the earliest possible date I made the suggestion, and this I told him was without the slightest authority, that it might be a good idea to have them confer with someone from the State of Washington while they were down there.
I shall probably write you another letter this afternoon as I have been trying to get the Prime Minister all morning in the hopes of prodding both him and Bill Herridge who is staying with him. I do not feel that I have accomplished very much of late in this matter, but as you know it is pretty hard to do anything with them now with the political situation going as it is.
Sincerely yours,
December 4, 1934.
The Prime Minister was ill today but I got him on the telephone in the late afternoon. I told him that I had had occasion to speak on the telephone to Washington and that they were more anxious than ever to have Read or Read and Skelton come down as originally planned with a draft to discuss the case.
The Prime Minister again brought up his old argument, which he also makes in his letter to you, that the case is not really one for the [Page 965] Canadian Government and that it is a civil case between the State of Washington and the Trail Smelter Company of British Columbia, and took the attitude that the State of Washington could readily sue the Trail Smelters. I expressed great doubt as to the effectiveness of this action.
I will say that he did show willingness to send Read down to Washington which I urged a second time, and I suggested that he should come on December 10th as I understand you will be back then.
There will be more information for you I hope tomorrow.