859B.7962/83: Telegram

The Consul at Godthaab ( Penfield ) to the Secretary of State

57. From Cumming.

  • “1. Due to atmospheric conditions the Department’s telegram of April 1723 was only received this afternoon.
  • 2. As indicated in the Consulate’s telegram No. 53, April 19, 4 p.m., Svane’s attitude now leaves nothing to be desired and I believe that he intends wholeheartedly to cooperate with us in attaining the objective of the agreement, always provided, however, that we locate our military establishments as far as practicable from the settlements and rigorously enforce disciplinary measures to prevent undue contact between our personnel and the native population. Brun is expected tomorrow morning and I have no reason to believe that following a full exchange of views his attitude will differ from Svane’s.
  • 3. Such conversations as I have had with local Danes indicate that they also are sympathetic with the objectives of the agreement. The initial resentment of Brun, and local residents whose opinions are worth considering appears to have been variously due to their belief that the agreement was too suddenly presented to them; to the feeling that Greenland should have been consulted with respect to details; to what some individuals feel was an impropriety on Kauffmann’s part in signing the agreement in the name of the King ‘who is now [apparent omission]; to regret that the United States had chosen as [Page 57] the date of signature the anniversary of the invasion of Denmark by Germany; and to the probably instinctive reaction of persons not currently in intimate touch with world affairs. This initial resentment has to a large degree been dispelled since Penfield and I have had an opportunity to explain fully the course of events leading up to the agreement, and discreetly the substance of paragraph 1 of the Department’s telegram under reference and its April 1624 to the Consulate regarding the unofficial reaction in Denmark.
  • 4. In my opinion however the underlying and most important reasons for apprehension on the part of thoughtful Danes here is the fact that the agreement ends for an indefinite period Greenland’s exclusion from the outside world which has been the cornerstone of Danish policy toward the native population. While the pertinent portions of articles 5 and 9 have been pointed out to Svane, and individuals here generally appreciate that Germany and not the United States is responsible for the chain of events leading up to the present situation, local qualms over the effect upon the native population of exposure to contact with large number of military personnel can only be resolved by time. The United States will be judged here by the decorum and restraint shown by our forces in their relations with the natives. If their conduct is what we expect of our military personnel, few apprehensions need be entertained over the smooth operation of the agreement in Greenland.
  • 5. Penfield concurs in the foregoing and in my suggestion that the Department impress upon the Army, Navy and Coast Guard the importance of making adequate provision for the welfare and recreation of personnel sent to Greenland in order to minimize the possibility that inactivity in their free time may result hi unfortunate incidents between them and the native populations.”
Penfield
  1. Not printed.
  2. Telegram No. 37, April 16, 8 p.m., not printed; it repeated substance of telegram No. 119, April 16, 11 a.m., from the Chargé in Denmark, p. 51, and reported favorable press and public reaction in the United States (859B.7962/78).