740.0011 European War 1939/11737: Telegram
The Consul General at Algiers (Cole) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:24 p.m.]
228. Monick en route to Rabat contacted me in Algeria today requesting that I urgently telegraph to the Department that he had a short conversation with General Weygand before departure from Vichy. Weygand, according to Monick, said “I succeeded in calling a halt to the proposed adoption of the new policy. The Council took no decision on it.” Monick admitted that he had been extremely depressed and discouraged when he saw Matthews in Vichy but he said that his last conversation with Weygand had altered his viewpoint. He is now convinced that the game is not lost. He thought the Secretary’s statement2 and Ambassador Leahy’s representations had an excellent effect in putting the brakes on Darlan.
[Page 369]Monick declared also that he was returning to Rabat not “to wind up his affairs” but with his status unchanged. He [apparent omission] that of course nobody could say where he would be a month or a year from now but for the present there is no change in his personal situation. He urged me to insist that the Department should not waver in the prosecution of the economic policy in French North Africa saying that it entailed no risk for the American Government but on the contrary gave us advantages and provided Weygand with a capital point of resistance to Darlan trend.
Repeated to Vichy for repetition to Tangier and Casablanca.
- Statement made on June 5; see Department of State Bulletin, June 7, 1941. p. 681.↩