740.0011 European War 1939/10138: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Spain (Weddell)

200. Your 340, April 20, 2 p.m. We feel that it would be most desirable that you should find an early opportunity to stress our position personally to the Chief of State. At the same time we wish again to emphasize the basic purpose of the instructions in our No. 184,15 which is that every officer of this Government should take every occasion to bring home repeatedly, in his conversations and by all other available means, the significance of our position, stressing our national determination to resist the forces of aggression and the scope of our effort to that end. We trust that you have not failed to impress this fact upon all the officers under your jurisdiction.

As stated in our No. 184, we are convinced that repeated, forceful presentation of our position will help greatly to counteract the effect of Axis propaganda in countries such as Spain which have not yet been drawn directly into the conflict.

Hull
  1. Dated April 10, 6 p.m., p. 887.