740.0011 European War 1939/34879/10: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 14—10:40 a.m.]
1649. Personal for the President. I talked with Churchill at 9:20 this morning and made perfectly clear to him your attitude regarding publication of your message to Reynaud. On my arrival at the office this morning I received your personal and confidential message transmitted in the State Department’s 1643, June 14, 1 p.m.3 I immediately called Churchill on the telephone about 11:30 and, Johnson4 being present while I was talking, repeated to him the sense of your statement and explained again clearly that there was no authority in the United States Government except in Congress to make any commitment regarding war. Churchill was obviously terribly disappointed as he had counted on publication of this message to put a little stiffening into the French backbone. I told him of your desire that any misapprehension which might exist in the minds of French officials regarding [Page 252] the meaning of the message be cleared up, and that they should understand that the matter primarily in mind in sending it was the French fleet and its disposition for future use. He expressed his disappointment and said he was afraid conveying such a message now to the French would merely dampen what fires remained. I replied that I was passing your message on to him as instructed and that the action he would take on it of course was up to him.
He inquired if there had been any reply from you to his last message very early this morning. I told him not yet but that I would get in touch with him immediately if and when anything came.