740.0011 European War 1939/16178
The Secretary of the Navy (Knox) to the Secretary of State
Sir: Admiral Hart, Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic Station, has informed the Navy Department of the following:
“According to United Press, Air Chief Marshal Brooke Popham, upon his return to Singapore stated that he had conferred with me during his visit to Manila. For the Department’s information my talks with Brooke Popham here were limited to brief discussions of PBY planes. In my opinion the fanfare of publicity which accompanied the above visit and which the British always seek to give to our talks with them in this area is unwise. This opinion is based on the following beliefs: first insofar as our own and joint preparations for eventualities with Japan are concerned time is on our side and therefore for the present it is injudicious to provide Nipponese jingoists with ammunition for the aggravation of public opinion. Second the occasion of preliminary conversations which are but the first steps toward the achievement of a strong and efficient Anglo-Dutch-U. S. partnership against Japanese aggression is not the proper time for publicity. This is particularly true inasmuch as initial talks often prove entirely ineffectual.”
I have informed Admiral Little, R. N., head of the British Admiralty Delegation, of Admiral Hart’s views and that if he concurred, “that it would be appreciated if appropriate action might be taken to handle publicity concerning our joint conferences in the Far East in accordance with this belief.”
In view of the possible effect of publicity concerning joint defense conferences on your negotiations with Japan, perhaps as a separate matter, without mentioning Admiral Hart, you may wish to invite [Page 506] attention of the British Embassy to the desirability of keeping such publicity to a minimum.1
Respectfully,
-
The Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck) on October 14 made the following comment on this letter:
↩“With the utmost respect for Admiral Hart’s feeling and opinion, it does seem to me that the Admiral is in this case making too much of too little.
It is noted that Colonel Knox, in the last paragraph of this letter, speaks of the Secretary of State’s ‘negotiations’ with Japan.
I doubt whether the Secretary need act on the suggestion conveyed in the concluding two lines of the letter. General and specific reference to the desirability of exercise of careful discretion in relation to the question of publicity is made from time to time by officers of the Department to British officials.”
Replying on October 22 to Secretary Knox, the Secretary of State stated “that general and specific reference to the desirability of exercise of careful discretion in relation to the question of publicity is made from time to time to British officials by officers of this Department.”