811.61311 Germany/8: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Germany (Sackett)
146. Story from Berlin of negotiations for purchase of Farm Board wheat and cotton appears in this morning’s press. The Department stated to the press last night (not for quotation) that “Ambassador Sackett has suggested to the German Government that perhaps it might be of assistance to Germany if the Farm Board were to sell on liberal credit terms substantial amounts of its holdings in wheat and cotton. However, neither the Farm Board nor the Government has yet received any request from Germany along these lines.”
[Paraphrase.] After a meeting yesterday, the Farm Board stated that it had no proposal from the German Government but that it would sell to Germany on credit terms if it would assist Germany and increase the consumption of commodities.
Embassy’s No. 155, July 31. In our opinion the time is now opportune for you to inform the German Government that your only interest was to assist it financially by ascertaining if the supplies of the Farm Board could be sold on long-term credits at low rates of interest. You know now that such is the case and that neither the Government of the United States nor you can negotiate contracts. Such negotiation is the province of the Farm Board; and you should tell them that if they are further interested they should appoint an agent in this country who would deal directly with the Farm Board. Your good offices, you should stress, were purely in the nature of a guide to them in locating, indirectly, a large amount of foreign credits.
Confidentially, this is more necessary, since the German Government is obviously consulting with dealers who are antagonistic to the Farm Board. These dealers wish to sell their commodities and are obviously misrepresenting matters in an attempt to forestall any action. This is also necessary because the Government cannot undertake either details or haggling over such matters.
Moreover, our opinion is that the moment has come when we have done everything that the Government could do in this matter of assistance; that we ought not to expose ourselves to the chargé that as a Government the United States is attempting to sell commodities. [End paraphrase.]