Representation of belligerent governments in enemy countries—Protection of their interests

[No extensive selection of papers on this subject is presented for the reason that the correspondence comprises mainly letters of transmission of communications from one belligerent government to another, where the American Government acts merely as an intermediary.1

The correspondence involved in taking over particular interests in various countries is likewise omitted, since it consists mainly of purely formal communications, except in the case of the exchange of telegrams, printed below,2 with the Minister in Belgium regarding protection of German interests there, significant because of the last sentence of the Secretary of State’s reply. It is not even possible to give a complete list of specific dates on which representation of particular governments was taken over in particular places, due to the number of steps involved and the fact that American officials were sometimes called upon to act in their representative capacities before these were completed—as in the case of protection of Austrian interests in Russia, correspondence regarding which is included below.3 A general statement as to the extent to which representation of belligerent governments had been taken over by the United States during the first month of the war is contained in the Secretary of State’s letter of September 3 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.4 The other papers printed comprise general instructions on the subject, laying down principles of conduct for American officers charged with the representation of foreign governments and correspondence on certain particular cases which leads up to the statement of general principles or significant interpretations of them. In another section below5 are printed papers on the protection of British and French interests in Turkey, covering certain cases in which the action of the American Government, based on humanitarian considerations, went beyond the formal duties of representation of foreign governments.]

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