811.24 Raw Materials/1101: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State

1652. In paragraph numbered 2 of the Embassy’s 1359, May 24, there is set forth the assurance of the Colonial Office that if an unanticipated demand developed which was reflected in a decided price movement the Tin Committee would be reconvened. On that day the price of tin in London was £267 per ton. Today it opened at £290. Several days ago I telephoned the Colonial Office and drew attention to the trend of tin prices and to its previous assurance, not requesting any action but to get the officials adjusted to the idea of possible action. Today I asked the Colonial Office what it proposed to do about tin. In a talk with Lowinger, just before he departed,59 the Embassy took occasion to dissect the Tin Committee’s recent past and to point the moral of immediate action in future to meet the requirements of a situation before it gets out of hand. I feel sure that if the facts of the tin situation in the United States as known to you are put before him he will telegraph a recommendation to London.

Kennedy
  1. He left England for Washington on June 5, 1940.