856A.20/55: Telegram
The Minister to the Netherlands Government in Exile (Biddle) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 23—4:30 p.m.]
Netherlands Series 33. Your 35, October 21, my 32, October 23.15
1. Foreign Minister Van Kleffens requested me to transmit to the President the following message from Queen Wilhelmina:
“I thank you for the very kind and frank manner in which you have asked Mr. Biddle to convey your views to me.
Mr. Biddle explained to me very clearly and fully the difficulties which would arise if we refrained from inviting the Brazilian Government to send a mission to Paramaribo. I am pleased to be able to tell you that in view thereof, I and my Government consider that we should not insist on the inconveniences inherent in receiving a Brazilian mission in Surinam, and therefore the Brazilian Government will be invited by my Minister at Rio de Janeiro to send a mission. I am happy at the thought that in this way the difficulties would seem to be over.”
2. In handing me the foregoing message, Minister Van Kleffens emphasized that the Queen had not known of the request to omit from the original formula the invitation to the Brazilian Government to send a mission to Surinam.
3. He went on to say that he had not fully realized the extent of difficulties which might be caused the President’s policy should the Netherlands Government not invite Brazil to send a military mission to Surinam.
In view of this fact, he wanted us to know that the Netherlands Government shared the Queen’s sense of gratification over the thought that by inviting Brazilian mission to Surinam these difficulties would be removed.
4. The Netherlands Government earnestly hoped that we would cooperate in measures to guard against the dangers which might arise from the possibility of the mission’s reports reaching Axis hands through someone in the Brazilian War Office. To his Government this danger was very real.
5. With regard to joint communiqué Van Kleffens stated that certain revisions of the original text would now be necessary. I shall obtain his draft tomorrow.
- Latter not printed.↩