740.00112 European War 1939/10455: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Sweden (Johnson)
637. Department’s no. 576.85 Your oral remarks to be made when you deliver the ball bearing note should be couched in the strongest possible language making full use of those sections of my speech of April 9 which refer to our intention to make every effort to reduce neutral aid to the enemy. Our intentions in this respect are firm, are backed by developing public opinion in the United States, and are of the utmost importance for military reasons. For your information, in addition to the written views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the substance of which was given you in paragraph 4 of the reference telegram, the Secretaries of War and Navy have today called on me and repeated their previous expressions of the importance which they attach to the elimination of Swedish ball-bearing exports to the enemy. You should inform the Swedish Foreign Minister86 that this matter is receiving my personal attention.