Reich Reported Drafting Emigration Decree; Britain Accepts Roosevelt Bid to Refugee Parley

The German Government was reported today to be drafting a decree, expected to be published soon, to give a legal basis to controlled emigration of Jews from the Reich. This information, it was learned, was given by Dr. Helmuth Wohlthat, director of the Reich ministry of Economics, to Sir Herbert Emerson, director of the Intergovernmental Refugee Committee and League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, during their negotiations.

Reports in today’s newspapers, including The Times, that the negotiations had reached the point where a satisfactory solution of the problem of orderly emigration was in sight were described by sources close to Sir Herbert as being based only on the impression he had gained from these talks, but they were believed to be generally correct. It was stated, however, that no official statement would be issued by the High Commissioner’s office until the anticipated German emigration decree was published.

In this connection, the Manchester Guardian published a lengthy letter from “A Refugee” warning against “the tragic illusion” of believing that Hitler was seriously willing to deal in any reasonable way with other governments to find a solution of the refugee problem and of the Jewish question. The letter asserted that the current negotiations for Jewish emigration were merely a method of blackmail to get further economic profits for Germany. “Hitler wants no solution, but an increase in the problem, which is the best way of spreading race hatred among other people,” the letter said.

Meanwhile, it was officially announced that the British Government has accepted President Roosevelt’s invitation to be represented at a White House conference on the refugee problem during the first week in September. The British representatives to the meeting will be Lord Winterton, chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee, and Sir Herbert Emerson. Also invited to the conference are the committee’s five vice chairmen, representing the United States, France, the Netherlands, Brazil and the Argentine.