893.515/676
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Phillips)
I called on Secretary Morgenthau this morning and told him of the conversation which I had had with the British Ambassador on July 11th with regard to Sir Frederick Leith-Ross. Mr. Morgenthau replied that clearly Stamp must have misunderstood him. It was Stamp himself who had made the suggestion of a possible conversation with third parties, whereupon Mr. Morgenthau had replied that he did not care to discuss such questions through third parties. Secretary Morgenthau authorized me to say to the British Ambassador that if the British Embassy should ask whether a visit from Sir Frederick would be welcome, the answer would be “yes”, but that, on the other hand, the Treasury has nothing in particular to discuss with him at the present time. Mr. Morgenthau made quite clear that he would not consider going to Toronto himself, nor did he welcome the suggestion of any other member of the Treasury going in his place.
It is evident that Mr. Morgenthau would be embarrassed by the appointment of a financial attaché to China at the present time. He foresees a round table discussion in China between the British, French, and American attachés, and a majority opinion saying to the American attaché that it is up to the United States to rearrange its silver policy. I said that while the Treasury might well feel the way it did, the State Department, on the other hand, was anxious to cooperate with Sir Frederick on matters other than purely monetary; that it had been our policy for many years to cooperate in the Far East with the British, and that we feared that the impression might be spread over the Far East of a lack of cooperation between our two Governments if a man of the high standing of Sir Frederick should pass this way, within a few hours of Washington, without having any contact with the Government. Mr. Morgenthau very cordially said that he would like to have a further conversation with me on this subject. He showed me Sir Josiah Stamp’s letter to him and his reply, which had already gone forward. It seemed to me that his position was in brief: That he wished to put the burden of responsibility of suggesting conversations [Page 606] with the British upon the British Government itself, and that if the British Government would take this responsibility, the United States Treasury would be glad to reciprocate. Mr. Morgenthau emphasized the attitude of the President in this particular.