Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1904

Mr. McCormick to Mr. Hay.

American Embassy,
St. Petersburg, March 5, 1904.

No. 95.]

Sir: With reference to the interests of American citizens in any part of Korea now occupied or hereafter to be occupied by Russian troops, I lost no time in laying before the minister for foreign affairs the contents of your cable of March 2, and to-day spoke with him personally on the subject of extending every possible consideration and security to those interests. He assured me, as he had already written, that in the case of occupation of any part of Korea the interests of Americans and all foreign neutrals in Korea would be safeguarded by the military authorities in so far as possible, that limitation in no sense to be taken to indicate that any effort would be spared in the desired direction.

I have, etc.,

Robert S. McCormick.

Translation of a memorandum left with the Secretary of State by the Russian ambassador March 28, 1904.

Japan having openly violated the neutrality of Korea and usurped the power in that country, which has from this fact become the theater of the hostilities, Russia, for her part, finds herself constrained to adopt such measures as the circumstances demand, and deems it her duty to warn all neutral powers of the danger in which vessels calling at Korean ports may be involved through the present development of the war.