Extract from a letter from Michael MacWhite to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
(1008/39/32) (Confidential)

[matter omitted]

From conversations I have had during the past eight or ten days with State Department officials it would appear they are most anxious that there should not be a renewal of trouble with England as it would have a disturbing effect at a moment when the United States Administration are making determined efforts to restore economic confidence. They also fear a renewal of anti-British agitation by Irish elements in the United States. The sympathy of the State Department in the most favourable circumstances would, very likely, be with Britain as against the Saorstát. Even when the Administration was not remarkable for pro-British sympathy, the State Department was known to maintain its age-old tradition.
[matter omitted]