a-*
SLC/34
PERSONAL
Room 220,
610, Fifth Avenue,
New York City.
Dear Butler,
Here is a note on the conversation
between Strathallan and Senator Hale of
the Senate Naval Committee.
Yours sincerely,
L
Nevile Butler Esq. C.V.O.,
British Embassy,
Washington D.C.
5
I met SenatorHale, Chairman I believe of the Senate Naval
Committee, at lunch.   The others present were mostly American and
all strongly pro-Eritish.   A discussion arose about sending destroyers
to England and Senator Hale announced "The trouble with all you people
and the great American public is that you do not know the facts
about the destroyers and so are in no position to make a Judgement.
Great Britian had at the beginning of the war 206 destroyers. She
has lost 29, built 13 new ones and has damaged 48^some of which
can probably soon be brought into action again."   I said I was afraid
that the figur« tiiat I had seen were not so favourable and that we
probably dicta11 have more than a half of our original number of
destroyers in active service.    Senator Hale said "If this is so,
then you British are doing"rotten propaganda' not telling us the
facts."
The discussion in waich all joined went over the whole field
of pros and cons and I got the strong impression that Senator Hale
was arguing wl th a mind made up on the question - that England
didn't really need them sufficiently to warrant America taking
the risk involved in sending them over and that he had made up his
mind after conscientious study as in America's true interest
althougi he himself is pro-British.
Two points arise*
1. Was the Senator right or wrong on his figures ;
2. That as he had made up his mind,  if my judgement is
correct, after a conscientious study of all sides of
this problem it might be worth while trying, througa
whatever are tte proper channels, to convert him by
a presentation of be case reasoned along technical
lines.