856D.6176/374: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 15—3:45 p.m.]
612. For Butterworth.11 Please confer with the appropriate officers in the Department and bring the following to their attention with any background you may offer.
[Page 517]At the rubber meeting today 75 per cent release was agreed on for the first 3 months of 1937 and 80 per cent for the second 3 months. Messrs. Townsend, Viles and Newman (see Department’s 438, December 5, 4 p.m.) express satisfaction with this figure and are sailing on the Europa on Thursday.
Campbell has expressed himself openly and freely as excessively resentful of the interference by the American Government with an international committee (see my 442, September 24, 5 p.m.) both to these American representatives and to members of the International Rubber Committee. He also has expressed resentment at a letter written to Gwatkin of the Foreign Office based on the Department’s instruction 438, December 5, 4 p.m. a copy of which was apparently forwarded by the Foreign Office to Campbell.
After my conversation with the American representatives today I feel that they are returning home having been persuaded by Campbell with British members of the Committee that in spite of resentment caused by the “interference” of this Embassy, the American representatives have succeeded in obtaining the maximum releases possible in view of the limited time before they are to go into effect. I have pointed out to them that any conversations between this Embassy and Campbell of the British Colonial Office are necessarily conducted through and arranged by the Foreign Office; nevertheless, I feel they have been persuaded that any presentation of United States official views directly or indirectly “is inadvisable for the future if it is likely to cause resentment.” I understand they will confer with the Department of State shortly.
After your conference with the Department please cable if there are any points not completely clear.
- Second Secretary of Embassy in the United Kingdom, temporarily in the United States.↩