851A.00/50a: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Leahy)16

968. The Secretary of State issued the following statement today:

“Our preliminary reports show that the action taken by three so called Free French ships at St. Pierre-Miquelon was an arbitrary action contrary to the agreement of all parties concerned and certainly without the prior knowledge or consent in any sense of the U. S. Government.

“This Government has inquired of the Canadian Government as to the steps that Government is prepared to take to restore the status quo of these islands.”

Please bring this to the attention of the appropriate authorities.

Hull
  1. Repeated on the same date to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom as telegram No. 6021, and to the Consul at Fort de France, Martinique, as unnumbered telegram.