To date there is no public knowledge concerning
the proposed plan for sovereignty over the
islands of Jarvis, Howland and Baker. Should
anything become public in con-nection therewith,
it is advisable that all concerned make the
same public statements.
Newspaper correspondents will obviously demand
an ex-planation from the Department of Commerce
as to why these islands are being colonized.
To say that it is for the purpose of installing
air navigation facilities to aid ocean fly-ing
would obviously require a tentative projection
of an air-mail service in the Pacific. The
Second Assistant Postmaster General [Harlee
Branch], in charge of Air Mail Service, has
informally agreed to make such an announcement
at the proper time. To aid in the appearance
of fact, the attached charts [have been prepared],
and will remain confidential until such time
as a public explanation is demanded.
The claim for sovereignty by the United States
is being handled by the State Department,
and no agency other than the State Department
will discuss this phase without prior consultation
with the State Department....