File No. 763.72112/4424
The Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Treasury ( McAdoo)
Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith a copy of a note from the British Ambassador,1 wherein he states that his Government considers that the time has come for bringing pressure to bear upon neutrals in order to deter them from rendering financial assistance to the enemy, and sets forth the means which, in the opinion of the British Government, should be adopted in this relation by the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Russia.
It is this Department’s view that if this statement is accepted and issued by the United States the paragraph following paragraph No. 5 should read as follows:
In each and every case “enemy” for this purpose with respect to each of the five countries includes not only enemy Government and any person, firm or company domiciled in country of an enemy or in territory occupied by an enemy, but also any person, firm or company wheresoever domiciled with whom the subjects of any of the above-mentioned five countries respectively are forbidden by the law of their country to have dealings.
I shall be glad to receive an expression of your views in this matter at the earliest practicable moment.
Letters similar to this have been addressed to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Commerce.2
I have [etc.]