Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The British Commonwealth, The Soviet Union, The Near East and Africa, Volume III

811.22761/20: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union ( Steinhardt ) to the Secretary of State

Moscow , January 22, 1940—noon.
[Received January 22—8:45 a.m.]

89. During an interview at the Foreign Office yesterday Potemkin⁵⁵ brought to my attention two recent developments which appear to have been deeply resented by the Soviet Government. The first is the exclusion of Soviet representatives from the Wright Airplane factories, an act which Potemkin insisted was discriminatory. The second is a public address alleged to have been made recently by Assistant Secretary of War Johnson⁵⁶ in the course of which Potemkin asserted, Johnson had made remarks derogatory to the Soviet Union and to the honor of the Soviet Army. Potemkin was especially bitter and caustic on this subject. As I had no knowledge whatsoever of the address I contented myself with a reminder that freedom of speech prevails in the United States.

Steinhardt

55. Vladimir Petrovich Potemkin, Assistant People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union until March 1, 1940.
56. Speech by Louis Johnson before the New York State Bankers’ Association at New York City on January 15; see New York Times, January 16, 1940, p. 13, and memorandum by the Secretary of State, February 1, p. 250.