File No. 855.48/615
The Acting Secretary of State to the French Ambassador ( Jusserand )
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s note of July 221 in which you inform me that the want of food is sorely felt in Belgium and the invaded parts of France and that the French Government has agreed with the British Government that Dutch vessels carrying provisions and held in [Page 1121] United States ports be, if this Government is willing, allowed to leave, provided the cargoes are previously bought by the Commission for Relief in Belgium and the commission is able to obtain from Germany safe-conducts for those vessels.
In reply I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that this recommendation has the full approval of this Government which will be disposed to put it into operation, provided that the conditions which you mention can be carried out.
Accept [etc.]
[For a summary of the state of British negotiations with the Netherlands regarding tonnage, see the letter from the British Ambassador, August 3, 1917, ante, page 916.]
- Not printed.↩