File No. 657.119/253
The Minister in Norway ( Schmedeman) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 28, 9 a.m.]
485. I handed a note to the Minister for Foreign Affairs at 8.30 this evening embodying substance of your telegram No. 210, January 21, 7 p.m., received at 6.30 o’clock. Minister for Foreign Affairs requests publication be deferred a few days. He was much disturbed about publication of proposal in all its details and seemed to fear difficulties from the German side if the portions of the proposal affecting question of exports to Germany were published.
10 p.m. Minister for Foreign Affairs has just called and handed me a note, in reply to my note above mentioned, stating that in order to avoid misunderstanding, Minister for Foreign Affairs has the [Page 1116] honor to say that the Norwegian Government regrets it is unable for the time being to assent to the War Trade Board’s proposal of December 20 to Nansen being published, but the Norwegian Government cannot object to the American Government’s publishing what it has proposed or offered to Norway provided that in doing so there be no publication or intimation of what Norway has proposed or offered to America. The note adds that the Norwegian Government hopes very soon to be able to answer the War Trade Board’s proposal of December 20 and will in this connection return to the question of publication.