859B.01/157
Memorandum by the Adviser on Political Relations ( Dunn ) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary: Pursuant to your instructions, I asked the Canadian Minister to come in this morning. I referred to the aide-mémoire the Minister had left with me on April 16th, with regard to the position of Greenland, and said that with respect to the specific suggestion made in that aide-mémoire that the Canadian Government was considering whether it would be necessary to send to Greenland a small defense force to guard against the danger of the establishment in Greenland of a base for German operations; for the protection of the mines there; and to look out for the needs of the residents of the island, that this Government was extremely anxious that no action of this kind be taken by the Canadian Government. I stated that you had informed the British Ambassador of our attitude along these lines with respect to any similar action by the British Government and that you desired that the Canadian Government be informed in the same sense. I went on to say that the President, as the Minister already knew, had asked Mr. Norman Davis, Chairman of the American Red Cross, to acquaint himself with the necessities and requirements of the civilian population of Greenland and that a study of those requirements was now being carried forward by Mr. Davis. I told the Minister for his confidential information that in making a survey of the requirements of the inhabitants of Greenland we would, of course, be in a position to look into any and all aspects of the situation there which might come to our attention with regard to their human needs and with regard to the economic situation upon which they depended for their existence.
I explained to the Minister that for the present it was perfectly possible that there would be no publicly announced plan of action by this Government with regard to Greenland other than the attention which [Page 359] would be given to the needs of the inhabitants by the American Red Cross, and that we fully intended to move very carefully in going forward with any action with regard to Greenland, as we did not wish to have any action taken with regard to that territory used as a basis for action which might be taken by other large countries with regard to colonial territories which might be affected by the occupation of the European mother country as a result of the extension of the present war. I said that we considered it therefore essential that no action be taken with respect to Greenland by Canada or any other country which might affect a possible similar situation in other parts of the world. I told the Minister that his Government could rest assured that we would be prepared to give consideration to any aspect of the situation in Greenland which might arise and that we would be very glad to learn from the Canadian Government that they felt that it was entirely unnecessary for them to take any action whatever with regard to that colonial territory.
Mr. Christie asked whether it would be possible to exchange information with regard to developments in Greenland. I replied that we would be very glad to have any and all information they might wish to furnish us with regard to the economic situation and welfare of the inhabitants of that territory, as such information would be helpful to us in our study of conditions there. I also said that as we realized the interest of the Canadian Government in certain products of Greenland, we would be very glad to keep them informed of any developments with regard to those aspects of the situation in which we knew the Canadians had such an interest.
The Minister said that he understood perfectly the position of this Government on the subject and would accordingly inform his Government, remarking that, for his own part, he did not see why it would not be perfectly possible to leave the matter in our hands, provided we assumed sufficient responsibility to take care of the dangers which the Canadian Government apprehended with regard to activities in Greenland by other powers.
Mr. Christie asked if I might inform him with regard to certain rumors his Government had heard to the effect that a Committee on Greenland was being formed in New York, under the direction of the Danish Minister in Washington, which was to receive the approval and backing of this Government in assuming control of the trade and communications with Greenland. I said that for Mr. Christie’s confidential information, a suggestion as to the formation of such a committee had been made but that this Government had taken no action whatever with regard to approving its formation or underwriting its activities. I said that he could inform his Government that no action along these lines had received the approval of this Government nor [Page 360] had any action been taken with regard to such matters as the control of the trade and commerce with Greenland nor with respect to the administration of that territory. I said that, as stated before, we had not gone further than ask the Red Cross to look into the matter of the welfare of the population of the colony and that we would be very happy to keep him confidentially informed of any actions we might take which we knew would be of interest to the Canadian Government.