File No. 811.741/84
The Secretary of the Navy (Daniels) to the Secretary of State
Washington, November 7, 1914.
Sir: There is forwarded herewith a copy of regulations and instructions prepared in this Department, which it is proposed to substitute for previous regulations on the same subject which are now in force, as a consequence of the President’s Executive Order of August 5, 1914.
It is requested that the advisability or desirability of these proposed regulations be passed upon by the State Department, and with such comment as may be deemed pertinent, and if the Department of State thinks necessary and proper, to be forwarded to the International Law Board for further expression of opinion.
[Enclosure]
Regulations governing radio communication
- 1
- Radio messages containing information relating to the location or movements of armed forces of any belligerent nation, or relating to material or personnel of any belligerent nation, will be considered as unneutral in character and will not be handled by radio stations under the jurisdiction of the United States, except in the case of cipher messages to or from United States officials.
- 2
- No cipher or code messages are permitted to be transmitted to radio ship stations of belligerent nations by any radio shore station situated in the United States or its possessions or in territory under the jurisdiction of the United States. Similar messages received by such radio stations from ships of belligerent nations will not be forwarded or delivered to addressee.
- 3
- No communication of any character will be permitted between any shore radio station under the jurisdiction of the United States and warships of belligerent nations except calls of distress, messages which relate to the weather, dangers of navigation or similar hydrographic messages relating to safety at sea.
- 4
- No cipher or code radio message will be permitted to be sent from or received at any radio station in the United States via any foreign radio station of a belligerent nation, except from or at certain stations directly authorized by the Government to handle such messages. Press items in plain language relating to the war, with the authority cited in each item, will be permitted between such stations, provided no reference is made to movements or location of war or other vessels of belligerents.
- 5
- No radiogram will be permitted to be transmitted from any shore radio station situated in the United States or under its jurisdiction to any ship of a belligerent nation or any shore radio station that in any manner indicates the position or probable movements of ships of any belligerent nation. Similar radiograms in the reverse direction will not be forwarded for delivery,
- 6
- Code or cipher messages are permitted between shore radio stations entirely under the jurisdiction of the United States and between United States shore stations and United States or neutral merchant vessels, provided they are not destined to a belligerent subject and contain no information of any unneutral character, such as the location or movements of ships of any belligerent nations. In such messages no code or cipher addresses will be allowed and all messages must be signed with the Sender’s name. Radio operating companies handling such messages must assure the government censor as to the neutral character of such messages. Such messages, both transmitted and received, must he submitted to the censor at such times as he may designate, which will be such that will not delay their transmission.
- 7
- In general, censoring officials will assure themselves beyond doubt that no message of any unneutral character is allowed to be handled.
- 8
- In order to insure that censors may, in all cases, be informed thoroughly and correctly as to the contents of radio messages coming under their censorship, they will demand, when necessary, that such messages be presented for their ruling in a language that is understandable to them.
- 9
- At such radio stations where the censor is not actually present at the station when messages are received by the radio station for forwarding either by radio or other means, messages may pass provided they are unmistakably of a neutral character, without being first referred to the censor, but the operating company will be held responsible for the compliance by their operators with these instructions.