740.00112 European War 1939/7–1444
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
The Minister of Switzerland called at my request. I proceeded to take up with him the Swiss proposal of limiting further exports to Germany in reply to previous American proposals and constant and long urging. I took up in connection with the Swiss proposal of July third the American reply which is in the nature of a counter proposal.
I prefaced my remarks by speaking of the traditional and inherent friendly relations between our peoples and our countries. I said that I had already discovered that some of the countries listed as neutral did not seem clearly to appreciate the serious situation of countries like the United States in this war; that we were spending two hundred billion dollars and have eight million armed men fighting on all battle fronts; that we were supplying Great Britain and Russia to an enormous extent and we were losing thousands of lives.
I said that at the same time it was not unnatural that Swiss businessmen would ask the intercession of their Government with ours and would seek to retain just as much trade as possible; that I had seen this happen to a great extent during the other World War. I added that I had seen it happen in this war; that the Swedes had pled with tears in their eyes for some time about so-called excessive requests of [Page 748] the Allied nations to limit still more and more exports into Germany; that possible loss of coal from Germany was their main argument and then we suddenly discovered that they had coal on hand to keep them supplied for a year and were moving rather complacently in certain business respects. I said that when a nation was spending what the United States was and was losing lives right and left because of neutral aid to the enemy in order primarily to gratify some businessmen, it presented a most serious question to this country.
I stated that I was requesting the Minister in the most earnest possible manner to take up this matter with his Government with a view to arriving at once at a satisfactory agreement based on the American reply to the Swiss proposal of July third. I said that one of these days the stand of some of the Swiss businessmen in question would be uncovered as in the cases of certain people in Sweden, resulting in inevitable friction between our countries. I discussed in some detail each of these points.
The Minister tried to argue but with very little success. He thought the Army and Navy were too insistent and extreme in their attitude. I said that the State Department was keeping up with all the facts and details and not relying on the Army and Navy to any great extent in this matter. The Minister said he would take the matter up at once with his Government and give it my message. I thanked him.