611.6231/402
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Phillips)
The German Chargé d’Affaires informed me that he had been in touch with Mr. Peek for some time with regard to a proposed barter of lard and German beer; the German Government was now ready, so he said, to accept 15,000,000 pounds of American lard and, in [Page 443] return, he understood that the Tariff Commission had lowered the duties on German beer sufficiently to make it accessible to this country; he assumed that Mr. Peek had kept the Department informed of these steps, which he hoped would have the approval of the State Department. I said that I had not heard from Mr. Peek lately in regard to this matter, but very likely Mr. Peek would let us have the facts shortly.
Doctor Leitner seemed to be vague as to the precise details of the transaction.