File No. 367.11/194
The Ambassador in France ( Herrick ) to the Secretary of State
Paris , August 26, 1914.
[Received 7:20 p.m.]
[Telegram]
In reply to the Department’s representations regarding conditions in Turkey, French Government replies as follows:
As the Government of the United States must certainly be aware, the really disquieting situation of the Christians in the Orient is due in large measure to German agitation which tends to provoke an awakening of Mussulman fanaticism. Consequently the despatch of French warships to certain points on the Turkish coast and notably to Smyrna might give rise to serious complications, especially in view of the present war, and might aggravate the lot of the Christian population whose protection the French Government has ever considered a duty. Therefore, the generous initiative of the Federal Government, which seems fully justified by the exceptional circumstances, cannot fail to meet with the most favorable reception on the part of the Government of the Republic.