851B.01/43

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)

The French Ambassador called to see me at my request.

The Ambassador stated that he had been in New York during the past three days but that the Counselor of his Embassy had informed him of the message I had sent concerning my preoccupation by reason of the reports received that Admiral Robert, the French Commander in Chief at Martinique, was planning to ship to South America a portion of the gold fund held in Martinique ostensibly for the purchase of food supplies for the civilian population in Martinique, as well as for the purchase of food supplies to be sent to France. The Ambassador said that he had authorized his Counselor to send a message directly to Admiral Robert requesting him to refrain from taking any action in that sense and that the Ambassador had followed it up with a personal telegram to Admiral Robert urging him to take no action which would create any disquiet and misunderstanding on the part of the United States Government.

I said to the Ambassador that I thought it was essential that the Ambassador and I have a very clear understanding of the situation regarding the French colonies in the Western Hemisphere and particularly the situation in Martinique. I said that we had shown the French authorities in Martinique, and particularly Admiral Robert, every possible consideration by sending high ranking officials of this Government to confer with them, and that it had been my hope that, as a result of those conversations, agreements had been reached which, while neither as conclusive nor as far-reaching as I had anticipated, at least gave some assurance to the United States with regard to the taking of measures which safeguarded the security and national defense of the United States insofar as the French colonies were concerned. I said to the Ambassador that it had been my understanding in all of my conversations with him that the French Government and the local authorities in Martinique had given positive assurances to the United States that the status quo in Martinique and in the other French colonies would be maintained, and that the term status quo as I employed it embraced not only the agreement with regard to the [Page 529] movement of ships, et cetera, but also all other questions, including the maintenance intact in Martinique of the gold funds deposited there. I asked the Ambassador specifically whether my understanding was correct. The Ambassador replied, equally specifically, that my understanding was entirely correct. He added that from the outset of our discussions concerning Martinique, he had insisted upon this point of view in his communications to his own Government, and that he had likewise insisted that if the French Government desired to reestablish friendly and helpful relations with the United States, it was imperative that not a single step be taken with regard to the French colonies in the Western Hemisphere which could create the slightest suspicion of disquiet on the part of the American Government.

The Ambassador went on to say that he regretted the statements which Admiral Robert had made concerning the possibility of shipments of gold from Martinique, but that he trusted that I would understand that these statements had been premised upon the belief of Admiral Robert that, while he had given all reasonable assurances within his power to Admiral Greenslade concerning the maintenance of the status quo, the assurances received from Admiral Greenslade with regard to the sending from the United States of sufficient food supplies to prevent the civilian population from starving had not been carried out. I asked the Ambassador how this misunderstanding could have occurred in view of my own belief that all of the necessary funds had been released by the Treasury Department here from the French blocked balances in order to permit the shipment from the United States of the stores of food, et cetera, necessary to prevent any distress in Martinique. The Ambassador stated that this was the case; in fact that what had occurred was that after the French liner Fort de France had loaded the cargo of food supplies, et cetera, and was preparing to depart from New York, the British authorities in New York City had obtained a court order holding up the vessel until certain claims owing the British by the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique had been paid. Consequently, the Ambassador said, it had been necessary to procure an American vessel and transfer the food supplies to that vessel and Admiral Robert had not understood the reason for the delay. These facts had now been explained to Admiral Robert, the Ambassador said, and he felt sure there was no further misunderstanding.

The Ambassador went on to say that the officials of the French Embassy who had conferred this morning in Dr. Berle’s office with certain officials of the Department of State for the purpose of reaching an agreement for the monthly release to the French Embassy of a definite sum sufficient to provide food for the civilian population in Martinique, gasoline for the local industries and oil for the French naval vessels [Page 530] in Martinique had been very much disturbed because they had been asked whether the authorities in Martinique were loyal to the Vichy Government, a point which they believed had been satisfactorily settled by the conversations which had been held between the American officials sent to Martinique and Admiral Robert. They had likewise been perturbed by the statement made to them that no settlement on this point would be reached until after Admiral Leahy87 reached Vichy.

I stated to the Ambassador that I believed many of his difficulties in matters such as these had arisen because of the fact that the French Embassy was giving the impression to the Department of State that it was continually trying to evade the officials responsible for the determination of these questions by sending various members of the staff of the French Embassy to various officials of the Department of State who were not primarily charged with these questions. I said that as the Ambassador knew, the agreements that had been found had been reached primarily between the Navy Department and Admiral Robert and that both Mr. Atherton and myself were fully prepared at any time to discuss the questions which might arise as to the carrying out of these agreements. I said consequently that in the future I preferred that the French Embassy discuss these questions either through the French Naval Attaché with the Navy Department or through the Ambassador with Mr. Atherton and myself, and that I would explain these circumstances to Dr. Berle and my other associates in the Department since the course so far followed by the French Embassy had given rise to much confusion and unnecessary delay.

In concluding this portion of our conversation the Ambassador repeated that the French Government would definitely maintain the status quo in Martinique in accordance with the spirit of the agreements reached upon the understanding that sufficient funds would be released from the French blocked balances in the United States to provide what, in the opinion of this Government, was a reasonable monthly quantity of food supplies and industrial material for the civilian population in Martinique and that sufficient oil be procured for the French naval vessels there to carry out the agreement reached between Admiral Greenslade and Admiral Robert.

  1. Adm. William D. Leahy, appointed Ambassador to France November 29, 1940.