340.1115A/727: Telegram
The Chargé in Germany (Heath) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 28—6 p.m.]
1551. My 1550, May 28, 5 p.m. I called by invitation this afternoon on Ritter74 at the Foreign Office who handed me an advance copy of the German press communiqué with regard to the steamship President Roosevelt affair the text of which was transmitted in my telegram under reference. After orally assuring me along the lines of the communiqué that all precautions had been taken to prevent molestation of the steamship Roosevelt by German naval units he said that he did not know whether the stories that his Government had heard of the British plot to sink the Roosevelt were true, but that he felt obliged to inform the Embassy that such stories had been received and that he hoped that the American Government had taken all precautionary measures to prevent the occurrence of any development of this nature [Page 114] since it was the desire of his Government to avoid by all means in its power any incidents which might unfavorably affect German-American relations.
No written communication regarding the President Roosevelt other than that reported in the Embassy’s telegram No. 1510, 25th,74a has been received and Ritter indicated that no formulation of the German Government’s position regarding the vessel need be expected beyond the foregoing oral statement which he had just made to me.