852.48/1511
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Ambassador in Spain (Hayes)15
During the Ambassador’s conversation with the Foreign Minister, this morning, General Jordana expressed the hope that we would soon have news about the planes and gasoline which Spain hopes to acquire from the United States. The Ambassador said that he hoped also that we would have news soon, but pointed out that our Government has to take into account public opinion in such matters. Meanwhile, he had noted no improvement in press, censorship or radio since he had left a Note on the subject a week ago. Now the matter of the treatment of refugees was up, and if the Spanish Government decided to send refugees back into France, as the Minister had implied might be done, to slavery or death, public opinion in the United States would probably make it impossible for our Government to make any concessions to Spain.
The Minister said he had hoped we would not tie the two things together. The Ambassador said he was not tying anything together; he was merely explaining a fact. We had not asked that the Spanish press be impartial if the Spanish Government did not wish to be impartial. The Spanish Government, on the other hand, had said that Spain had adopted a policy of impartiality and was determined to be neutral. We were, therefore, not asking any favor if we suggested that all agencies of the Spanish Government, and not merely the Foreign Office, follow that policy of impartiality which the Foreign Office itself had announced.
The Minister said he was sure there had been some improvement in the press recently. He was not aware of any attacks on the United States. The Ambassador said there would have to be more improvement than he had been able to notice before public opinion in the United States could be reassured.
- Transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in his despatch No. 763, April 2; received April 22.↩