841.731T67/127

The British Ambassador ( Geddes ) to the Secretary of State

No. 209

Sir: With reference to the note which your predecessor was so good as to address to me under date of December 21, 1920, with regard to alleged delays and interference on the part of His Majesty’s Government with cablegrams passing between the United States and foreign countries, I have the honour to inform you, on instructions from my Government, that the contents of Mr. Colby’s [Mr. Adee’s] note have been most carefully considered and that His Majesty’s Government wish to make the following reply to the statements contained therein.

In none of the instances specifically referred to in Mr. Colby’s [Mr. Adee’s] note has the information originally requested by the British Delegation to the recent Conference on Communications—namely the dates of the telegrams and the names of both correspondents, (which should include the office of handing in and the full address)—been supplied. Without this information it is obviously impossible to trace the telegrams, especially as fifty two out of the [Page 702] fifty six complaints are some two years old, dating from the period immediately after the armistice with Germany, while one or two apparently arose during the war itself. Of the four complaints dated 1920 two are identical, the writer’s name being given in one case and his desire to remain anonymous being stated in the other. The latest in date (December 8th, 1920) speaks of an improvement in the service generally and does not even suggest that His Majesty’s Government are in any way responsible for the former delays.

The censorship was maintained for some time after the armistice for reasons with which the United States Government was fully acquainted, but neither the censorship nor any other Department of His Majesty’s Govermment was responsible for the delays or errors which occurred in the transmission of innocent telegrams. These, in so far as any of the telegrams passed between the United Kingdom and the United States, were partly due to the congested state of the cables between the two countries, all of which cables are, without exception, leased to or owned by the (American) Western Union and Commercial Cable Companies. Delays to all telegrams, not only American, between the United Kingdom and Europe were also occasioned during the period in question by the disorganisation of the telegraph services to and in the continent of Europe, particularly Germany, this being one of the inevitable consequences of the war, while in many of the cases quoted—e.g. of telegrams to and from Spain, France, the Orient, South America and other parts of the world—no proof is given that such telegrams ever passed through British territory or over British cables at all.

The allegation that British firms were allowed access to information derived from the censorship is untrue and is supported merely by hearsay and second or third hand statements made by persons, whose sentiments were, as the State Department admit, coloured by their personal feelings.

Reports of this nature were notoriously spread by enemy agents on several occasions during and after the war, with the sole object of creating friction between His Majesty’s Government and the United States. The continued dissemination of such reports, based only on vague insinuations made some two years ago, show that their authors are still inspired by that object and that they can produce no evidence in support of their allegations.

In none of the cases mentioned in the note is any proof given that the failure of correspondents to reply to telegrams was not due to the action of those correspondents themselves, but in this connection the United States Government will recollect that, after the entry of the United States into the war, United States officers were working in the British Censor’s Office and, as His Majesty’s Government are [Page 703] aware, those officers regard as unfounded the charges of this nature brought against the British censorship.

His Majesty’s Government appreciate the observation made by the State Department that it “assumes no responsibility for the sentiments expressed by the writers of some of the communications included in the memorandum, which are of course merely expressions of individual opinion.”

The State Department, however, also observes that “these complaints indicate the reasons that cause American business interests to consider it important to have cable facilities operated by Americans free from foreign censorship and control.”

It is precisely because American business interests have founded their opinions on vague charges, for which no proof is forthcoming, that His Majesty’s Government feel bound to give the fullest publicity to the whole correspondence, in the hope that this source of misunderstanding may be finally removed.

The only telegrams referred to in the memorandum of the United States Government which it has been possible to trace with the aid of the two American Cable Companies, who retain the original forms, are eleven of those from the United States Military Mission in Berlin mentioned in the penultimate paragraph of the memorandum. A statement in which the delay sustained by these telegrams has been analysed is enclosed.4 It will be seen that the average interval between the times at which the messages were received from Germany by the British Post Office and the times at which they were received at the offices of the American Companies in London was only forty minutes. There was considerable delay in the despatch of the messages from Germany; but it may be mentioned that eight of the eleven messages were despatched in March 1920, at a time when Germany was, as the United States Military Mission was doubtless aware, in the throes of a revolution and the telegraph service was thoroughly disorganised. Some of the messages appear to have sustained considerable delay after being transferred to the American Companies; but the Companies state that they were dispatched from London without undue delay; and in the most serious case (No. 205) the Commercial Cable Company suggest that the date of delivery has been mis-stated in the memorandum. Possibly the United States Government may wish to pursue the enquiry with the Companies as regards the treatment of the messages after their dispatch from the United Kingdom.

In this connection it should be added that the American Cable Companies have their own cables between the United Kingdom and France, and that since the latter part of 1919 special wires between [Page 704] England and Holland and Belgium respectively have been leased by His Majesty’s Government to the Western Union Company. A large proportion, therefore, of the United States–Continental traffic passing through the United Kingdom is dealt with throughout by American Cable Companies and is not handled by the British Post Office at all.

His Majesty’s Government much regret that the United States Goverment desire that the memorandum containing the names of the persons who have made the complaints should be regarded as confidential, as His Majesty’s Government would have preferred to reply to each case individually. His Majesty’s Government can however only defer to the wishes of the United States Government in this respect, but in these circumstances they must emphasise the untrustworthy nature of communications made by persons and firms unwilling to allow their names to be quoted in support of their statements.

I should be glad to learn at as early a date as possible whether the United States Government see any objection to the proposal of His Majesty’s Government that publicity should be given to the correspondence which has passed between the two Governments on this subject.5 A proof of the papers would, of course, be submitted to the United States Government in the customary manner.

I have [etc.]

A. C. Geddes
  1. Not printed.
  2. Not printed.