851B.01/17
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The French Ambassador called to see me this morning.
The Ambassador brought up the subject of our discussions with regard to Martinique. The Ambassador hesitated a good deal before he started the conversation and I interjected to say that I had been informed by the Navy Department that a conversation was held yesterday between the French Naval Attaché and officers of the Navy Department with regard to the Martinique question. I said that to my regret it appeared that the conversation had been exceedingly unsatisfactory.
The Ambassador then said in great confidence that his Naval Attaché, Captain Benech, in whose personal loyalty and devotion he had the utmost confidence, had been very ill treated by the French Naval Ministry which had sent to him a series of highly insulting telegrams. The Ambassador said he believed they were taking pot shots at him, the Ambassador, in the person of his Naval Attaché. The Ambassador said that the feeling of the French Naval Ministry about this question seemed to be intense. I replied that while the feeling here was perhaps not intense, it was nevertheless very strong in the belief that a satisfactory settlement must be found in order to avoid the possibility of serious complications arising.
The Ambassador then stated flatly that his Government could not agree, under the armistice terms, to the sending back to the United States of any of the planes bought from the United States. I reiterated to the Ambassador the insistence of this Government that these steps should be taken, and I reminded him that at a great sacrifice the Navy Department had made a number of the planes in question available, and that, at a time when our own national defense requirements were uppermost, it seemed incomprehensible that the French Ministry of Marine would refuse to find the proper way in which these planes could now be sent back to the United States inasmuch as the French Government itself no longer required them. The Ambassador said he quite agreed as to the principle involved, but he did not see how, under the terms of the armistice, this could be done.
I then stated that with regard to the four other points which we had previously discussed, it seemed to me that many of these involved questions of a technical character and that I believed it would be desirable without further ado for the American naval officer, whom the French Government had agreed should go to Martinique, to proceed there to enter into immediate discussions with Admiral Robert as to the best solution of the problems presented and then to formulate his recommendations to this Government through the Navy Department [Page 513] in Washington. The Ambassador said he fully agreed with this recommendation, and I said I would advise him as soon as plans had been completed for our own naval officer to proceed to Martinique.