File No. 23286/1.
Ambassador Bacon to the Secretary of State.
Paris, January 28, 1910.
Mr. Bacon says he called at the Foreign Office this morning and expressed the deep sympathy of the Government and people of the United States for the dreadful calamities caused by the flood, and inquired if it would be perfectly agreeable to the French Government to receive contributions from American citizens to aid the sufferers—many offers of aid having been cabled him from the United States. He says he was assured that such funds would be [Page 509] gratefully received, and that they should be sent to the French Government through the embassy. Mr. Bacon says the American chamber of commerce already has received subscriptions of over 150,000 francs, including 100,000 from J. P. Morgan & Co. of New York.
Mr. Bacon adds that he can not learn of any Americans having suffered, but that some, including himself, have been compelled to move on account of the water backing up from sewers and drains and flooding cellars and kitchens. Mr. Bacon adds that the Associated Press dispatches seem accurately to describe conditions, which grow worse as the water rises.