File No. 763.72111N39/17
The Ottoman Embassy to the Secretary of State
The Imperial Ottoman Embassy has the honor to inform the Department of State that the Imperial Ottoman Government has [Page 51] decided to observe strict neutrality in the European conflict now being waged.
The general mobilization which was ordered at the same time is in the nature of a purely precautionary measure destined to insure the safety of the Ottoman territories.
Ottoman Embassy,
Washington,
August 8, 1914.