859B.01B11/6
The Secretary of State to the Danish Minister (Kauffmann)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Honorable the Minister of Denmark and has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of his note dated October 22, 1941 in which Mr. Kauffmann requests the views of the Government of the United States with respect to his proposal that in order that he may more effectively discharge his responsibilities for the direct supervision of all Danish Government agencies in the United States, he attach the members of the Greenland Delegation in New York to the Danish Consulate General in that city.
In reply Mr. Kauffmann is informed that his contemplated action is agreeable to the Government of the United States and, furthermore, that in Mr. Hull’s opinion the evolution of relations between Denmark, the Danish Colony of Greenland, and the United States makes it advisable that a clear statement of these relations be made at this time. Reference is had particularly to the very broad obligations assumed by the Government of the United States towards the Kingdom of Denmark in the Agreement Relating to the Defense of Greenland signed on April 9, 1941, and related exchange of notes, and especially to the assurances included in that Agreement and made simultaneously in a statement by the President of the United States that the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark over and its rights in and to the Colony of Greenland would continue to be recognized and scrupulously respected by the Government of the United States.
From these obligations and assurances, which have been welcome no less in Denmark than in Greenland, it follows that the responsibilities of the United States with respect to Greenland run directly to Denmark, even though by reason of the occupation of the country by German forces, the Government of Denmark is unhappily not at present in a position freely to act in Greenland or elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere. The duly accredited and recognized representative in the United States of His Majesty the King of Denmark and the Royal Danish Government is the Minister of Denmark at Washington, who was appointed prior to the occupation of his country by German forces. In consequence, the Government of the United States feels that it must look to him as the spokesman for all Danish interests, including Greenland, and that it is obligated to consult with him whenever those interests are involved.
Note has been taken of the fact that the Colony of Greenland did not have autonomous powers within the framework of the Danish constitutional system, but that its internal administration and external relationships were in all respects determined and directed by the Government of Denmark. It follows that were the United States to enter into relations with the Colony or the Colonial officials other than [Page 69] through the duly accredited and recognized representative of the Danish Government, it would, in effect, be contributing to a separation of Greenland from its historic and constitutional relationship with Denmark; and such action would therefore tend to be in violation of the obligations assumed by the United States to respect Danish sovereignty over Greenland and to assist Greenland in the maintenance of its status.
The dependence of the Colony of Greenland upon the Government of Denmark appears to extend not merely to matters of political significance, but likewise to economic and financial matters. This plainly establishes the principle which must be applied to the control over Greenland assets and expenditures, most of which revolve around the sale of cryolite and the use of the funds thus obtained for the purchase of supplies, the administration of Greenland, and the discharge of Danish obligations to the owners of the cryolite mine and to the miners. The Minister of Denmark at Washington is recognized by the Secretary of State as having the responsibility for the control and expenditure of all Danish Government funds and Central Bank funds in the United States. Similarly the various licensing orders issued by the Secretary of the Treasury have been drawn with a view to fixing the responsibility for control and expenditure of Greenland funds upon the Minister of Denmark as the recognized representative in the United States of Danish interests, including Greenland.
Note has also been taken of the fact that contracts for the disposal of cryolite have in the past been made under the direction of the Danish Government. It would thus appear that at present the Danish Minister in Washington exercises the functions of the Danish Crown and Government in that regard.
The Secretary of State has accordingly determined that all matters regarding finance, supplies, and the sale of Greenland products in the United States will, as a matter of policy be taken up with the Danish Legation in Washington. The Danish Minister has proposed that he attach the members of the Greenland Delegation in New York to the Danish Consulate General in New York, to the end that he may more effectively discharge his responsibilities for the direct supervision of all Danish Government agencies in the United States. As indicated above, Mr. Hull agrees to this step for the purpose of better safeguarding the position and interests of the Kingdom of Denmark, including the Colony of Greenland. American consular officers in Greenland will, of course, continue to transact with the Danish authorities in Greenland such official business as is customarily transacted between a consular officer and the local officials within his consular district.