Your telegram 97.¹ Shall carry out instructions but please realise atmosphere: outside of few informed Irish, everyone here from highest administration to man in the street considers that we are foolish not to invite British aid and that England shows great forbearance in not securing weak flank by reoccupation: all arguments to contrary such as you use received with shrug. Even well-wishers like Senator O'Mahoney² take this view: this derives not so much from propaganda as from fear that Britain will collapse and Fleet pass to Germany thereby creating immediate vital threat to America.