Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920, Volume I

763.72/2634½

The Secretary of State to President Wilson

Washington, April 24, 1916.

My Dear Mr. President: I enclose a memorandum on the status of armed merchant vessels, which I prepared a month ago.⁴⁵

It is possible that Germany may abandon submarine war against merchant vessels, and then attack vessels with armaments, claiming that they are not merchant vessels. I think that we should be prepared to meet this move at the very outset, otherwise they will appeal to the letter of January 18th⁴⁶ as an expression of the ideas of this Government.

The memorandum was prepared to show the consistency of the statements in the letter of January 18th with the accepted rules as to the arming of merchant vessels.

I would be obliged if you could let me know at Cabinet tomorrow whether you approve of the memorandum as I may have to use the substance orally in interviews with Count Bernstorff.

Faithfully yours,

Robert Lansing

45. For text of this memorandum as made public on April 27, see ibid., p. 244.
46. Foreign Relations, 1916, supp., p. 146.