Circular cablegram D242 LONDON, 9 June 1940, 5.05 a.m.
MOST SECRET FOLLOWING FOR PRIME MINISTER
1. My telegram Circular D.237 paragraph 4. [1] In the opinion of His Majesty’s Ambassador at Washington [2] the overwhelming mass of United States Congressional opinion does not appear to have got beyond the point of willingness to help the Allies by every means which do not lead to involvement or paralyse their own programme and Congress does not yet appear to be ready to repeal the Neutrality Act.
2. On the other hand His Majesty’s Ambassador considers that there is a growing conviction, as yet held by a minority, that the only rightful thing for the United States of America to do is to enter the war; partly on the moral ground that this is America’s as much as the Allies’, and partly on the grounds that France and Britain form the first line of Americans’ own defences.
3. Since any suggestions or pretence that we do not want United States to come into the war would probably impede rather than to progress this minority in their efforts to carry the rest of United States opinion with them His Majesty’s Ambassador deprecates the fine of action suggested in my telegram under reference.
4. Matter is therefore under re-consideration.
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1 Document 348.
2 Lord Lothian.
3 The number has been inserted from the Prime Minister’s Dept inward cable register (FA: A3635).
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[FA: A3195, [1.4056] [3]]