Dear Mr. President: It seems to me the location of all offices of the Service here would be most advantageous; and to that end an enormous palace was bought some years ago. But this building is now in such condition that it would cost over a million dollars to put it in order; and the consequences of building of a subway under one corner of it are such that I have urged upon the Department the exchange of the palace for another place. If this could be approved this spring, I think we could get a far better bargain than we could hope for later. In case you can give the matter a moment's consideration,I wish you might see Mr. Phillips who was here January I and looked into the matter carefully. Carr and Merrill of the Department are still using every influence they have to get more than a million dollars added to the million seven hundred thousand already invested; their attitudes are personal I fear,rather than national. How many mistakes our greater nations have made since I920| We refused to give the League of Nations a trial, though we might have withdrawn in case we beacme convinced membership meant nothing. Then we put through two tariff laws which made the payment of debts impossible,nearly everybody talking about paying in gold| Those two acts did more to set up the barriers to commerce than anything else, and reduced our standard of living sadly. Then France insisted upon armaments to the limit and caused Hitler to be able to seize control of the German nation. And England refused to support us when we tried to stop Japan's imperialism in China| Last November-December Hoare and Laval defeated the first real League movement to stop war at a moment when two-thirds of the German people were hoping to see Mussolini stopped because it would mean later a stoppage here. That was a blunder which now leads to the necessity of alliances; and alliances are only repetitions of 1879 to 1914. I hardly know which people have acted more stupidly; and all this armament business now reaches five billion dollars cost a year - all nations bankrupt| I had long talk last Saturday with Secretary von Neurath, 29th of February, who revealed his great anxiety, though he insisted Hitler is really getting uneasy and listens more to the Foreign Office. He agreed as to the terrible blunder of last November and added that the hope of Europe now depends on a restoration of the League and Germany's joining. Then he added,"but your country is forming a League which will have the effect of making our League European and then of creating an Asiatic League: certain war". Well I could only say "No" with some doubt. Yours Sincerely William E. Dodd |