810.74/572
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of State (Long)
Sir Ronald Campbell came in this afternoon at his request. We discussed the situation in B. A. and Santiago and further steps to be taken in B. A. I told him that we were proposing to take the next logical step which was either to go through with the movement to sever the beams to the Axis or to repeat in B. A. the step which Santiago had taken and stop all communications by cipher or code to powers outside of the American hemisphere. That would be decided late this afternoon or tomorrow, and I would keep him advised.
Sir Ronald said that the British Embassy would probably take the same attitude about its denial of cipher privileges from B. A. that it took in Santiago. He had received from his Government information that instructions had been sent to the British Ambassador in Santiago that he do not protest the denial of cipher privileges there for the reason that they did not use the radio. The same situation existing in B. A., he thought his Government would take the same position but he could not speak for his Government without consulting them.
I called Sir Ronald’s attention to the fact that we had heard unofficially that the British Western Telegraph Company which operates cable lines up and down the west coast of South America, and which had either land lines or radio from Santiago to B. A., were transmitting messages, intended for the Axis, to B. A. which messages would be forwarded from B. A. direct to the Axis capitals. I told him that we had not been officially advised of that fact but in case we should be officially advised I would be glad to bring it to his attention in the thought that his Government might care to take the same attitude to those communications as it had to the Consortium station. He said he thought his Government would do so if it was brought to their attention and if it was a fact, and that he assumed that the proper step would be to communicate with the Board of Directors there as had been done in the case of the Consortium.