862.51/4079a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Germany (Dodd)
77. Our 74, June 16. You, of course, will have understood that the last paragraph of our 74 is solely in reference to the information transmitted by you in 112 to the effect that the Foreign Office had indicated that this Government had shown a willingness to reduce the rate of interest on German obligations and citing a statement attributed to President Roosevelt in the New York Times of February 8 as evidence that this Government views the reduction of interest on foreign indebtedness as reasonable.
The Department’s statement is intended to explain that this Government did not feel that it had any authority to in any way dispose of any right possessed by the private holders of German securities or to make suggestions regarding or consent to reduction of interest. Discussions of such matters should take place between the debtor government and the representatives of the creditors themselves, and the Bondholders Council was referred to as representatives of the creditors which might be approached by any government.