611.4131/322
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The British Ambassador came in and handed me two notes: one from Mr. Anthony Eden, of the Foreign Office,59 and the other from the new President of the Board of Trade.60 The Notes are self-explanatory and copies are attached hereto. I thanked the Ambassador and requested him to thank these gentlemen.
The Ambassador prefers not to be over-confident about a trade agreement between our two countries, but does feel that the movement is steadily gaining strength and going forward.… The Ambassador said that he understood Mr. Chamberlain had made what was really a moving speech in the Imperial Convocation in support of a trade agreement with the United States. I suggested that there were two dangers ahead: one was that the whole matter might be delayed, from one cause or another, until the present fine sentiment in this country and many other countries—with considerable sentiment taking root in Europe—might stagnate and sag down; the other question was whether the British would announce their destination as Chicago, instead of San Francisco where they really expect ultimately to go. I said I meant by that that they might be tempted to stop short of the favored-nation policy—too short in fact—as a first step, while concealing their main and final objective of the unconditional favored-nation policy.