William Denman to Woodrow Wilson

I was rather taken by surprise this afternoon to hear that the question of the delegation under the commandeering Act was to be taken up within twenty–four hours. I had understood from our last conference that it was to be delayed until after the Food Bill had progressed further in the Senate. I beg of you that this matter be held over until I have had another opportunity to discuss it with you. If the commandeering power with regard to steel ships is to be decided immediately, I beg that it be given to the Corporation, and that the power follow the line of the use of the money indicated in the legislation, namely, through the Corporation. With regard to the suggestion that we go to the bottom of the wooden ship matter, I am gathering documentary evidence together showing a definite expressed intention to depress wooden ship construction and to discourage it; – this at a time when the rate of destruction by the Germans was three times greater than the highest estimated hope of reproduction of steel vessels. There is, for instance, a stenographic report of General Goethal's instructions to men who would place wooden ship contracts.
Is Colonel House within reach? I have never met him, but I wish I could have his counsel, advice, and a chance to give him all the facts. In any event, we should not commandeer the British steel tonnage, and then abandon our wooden ship program. One of the chief arguments I urged with Mr. Balfour was our intention of going in for non–commercial wooden ships, and I offered this as a pledge of our good faith in taking over all our steel commercial cargo ships on the stocks. I have not seen a copy of General Goethal's proposed scheme of commandeering, and beg that before it is acted upon I have a chance to consult with you concerning it. The General announced at a public meeting in our office here recently that it was intended to commandeer all foreign tonnage, including the British. Perhaps we should consider the question of accepting Mr. Balfour's offer before doing this.
With reference to the attitude of the press on certain phases of the wooden ship controversy, I am inclosing two editorials, one from the New York Times, and the other from the Springfield Republican.
We have only the reports of the sinkings of English vessels for the last two weeks, but considering the total sinkings of all nations in the proportion in which the British sinkings bore to the total in the first two months the rate of sinkings the past fortnight amount to twelve million tons dead weight a year. Our program, including the few wooden ships we intend building, will not give us over four millions of tons in both English and American construction in that time. No matter how long it may take to build wooden ships, even if it were longer than steel, we must have them for supplements to the steel program. The rate of reproduction will then be far behind the rate of destruction.
Chairman.The President,The White House.