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FRHM:GW
Perhaps when you see the President
tomorrow you could ask him whether he would
he prepared to let you have copies (or at
all events the stibstance) of any messages
on official matters which he may send to the
Prime Minister through the American Kmbassy
in London.   A certain amount of confusion
is apt to arise occasionally when the Foreign
Office send us telegrams referring to earlier
messages from the President to the Prime
Minister of which we have not got copies.
This is particularly the case when the
President's message has been in reply to
one from the Prime Minister sent through
this Embassy.   A recent concrete case ha^
to do with the repair of H. M. G. "Malaya".
The original enquiry as to whether this ship
could be repaired in an American shipyard
was contained in a message from the Prime
Minister to the President sent through this
Embassy.   The answer agreeing to the suggestion
was sent by the President through the American
Embassy in London.   V/e here were never in-
formed either as to the contents of this
answer or that it had been sent and if it
.had not been for the fact that the N. A.
was able to discover informally through the
Navy Department what was going on we would
not have known how matters stood.
London nowadays send us copies of
any messages which the Prime Minister may
have sent to the President through the
American Embassy in London and it would
help us a lot if similar arrangements could
be made as regards the President's messages.
ith April, 1941
H