311.5654 Wilhelmina/12½
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The Netherlands Ambassador5 called to see me today at his request. The Ambassador said he felt it necessary to call to my attention the situation which had arisen from the expropriation by the War Shipping Administration of the Dutch steamship Wilhelmina expropriated at Seattle and now in use under the American flag. The Ambassador stated that he had discussed this question at length with Assistant Secretary Long. The Ambassador said he wished to make it clear that the Dutch Government fully recognized our shipping needs and was entirely willing to charter this vessel and any other available Dutch vessel to the United States on a bareboat basis, but that the Dutch Government could not agree to the expropriation of its properties in this cavalier fashion by the United States Government. I told the Ambassador that I was quite unfamiliar with the facts and that I would look into this in order to see what might be done that would be helpful under the circumstances.
- The diplomatic representation between the United States and the Netherlands was raised from the rank of Legation to that of Embassy on May 7, 1942.↩