811.34544/654
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
Lord Halifax83 called to see me at my request.
I expressed to Lord Halifax our disappointment that so much delay was being encountered in the conclusion in London of the negotiations for the naval base leases. I said that now that the Appropriation Committees in the two Houses of the Congress have before them the [Page 69] determination of the appropriations necessary for us to carry out the defense facilities required in these bases, it of course gave rise to a great deal of undesirable conjecture and debate when it had to be admitted that the leases had not yet been agreed upon. I said that the Department of State was going to recommend to the President that he send a personal message to Mr. Churchill expressing his hope that the leases would soon be agreed upon and explaining the serious situation which was developing on the part of American public opinion with regard to the present situation.
Lord Halifax said that he had just received a message from his Government in this regard, and asked very earnestly that the President delay sending any message to Mr. Churchill until his Government’s views as just communicated to him could be given consideration.
I told him that I was very glad to ask that action be delayed until we had had an opportunity of studying these views which Lord Halifax told me he would send me tomorrow in memorandum form.
- British Ambassador.↩