File No. 22867.
The Secretary of State to Ambassador Hill.
Washington, January 11, 1910.
Sir: The department has received your No. 527 of the 6th ultimo, relative to the request of the New York police authorities for the arrest in Germany of Max Runge, a fugitive from justice in this country, and his possible extradition to the United States.
Inasmuch as, under Anglo-Saxon legal theory, crime is territorial, not personal, and therefore the criminal jurisdiction of the United States does not, as a general rule, extend to crimes committed outside of its jurisdiction, whether by American citizens or aliens, it is not possible to meet the suggestion of the German note verb ale that this Government guarantee, in cases the reverse of Max Runge’s case, the criminal prosecution in this country of an American citizen charged with the commission of a crime in Germany. It may be remarked that the department has no communication from the New York authorities respecting the Max Runge case and is not advised of the circumstances thereof beyond what is contained in the note verbale from the German foreign office.
I am, etc.,