Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1915, Supplement, The World War

File No. 841.731/499

The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Secretary of State

No. 1105]

London, March 24, 1915.
[Received April 9.]

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the Department’s instructions No. 584 of February 3² in regard to the censorship of cablegrams by the British authorities, and calling my attention to the copy of a letter enclosed therein, dated January 19, from the manager of the Washington office of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and directing me to take up this matter with the Foreign Office and endeavor to bring about such an arrangement as is outlined in the above-mentioned letter.

I beg to advise the Department that I am now in receipt of a note from Sir Edward Grey, a copy of which is enclosed herewith, under date of March 18, in reply to my representations in the premises, and in which it is set forth that the censorship authorities can not see, so far as they are aware, that anything has occurred to modify the necessity of retaining the power of complete control over trade telegrams to or from neutral countries adjacent to Germany.

I have [etc.]

Walter Hines Page

[Enclosure]

The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Grey) to the American Ambassador (Page)

No. 29147/15]

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments to the United States Ambassador, and has the honour to inform him that he forwarded to the Department of His Majesty’s Government concerned, his excellency’s note of the 3d instant transmitting copy of a letter from the Western Union Telegraph Company.

The censorship authorities point out, in reply, that so far-reaching a question as the admission or prohibition of code to neutral countries in Europe is one that must be decided without reference to the views that may be held by a private cable company, and so far as they are aware, nothing has occurred to modify the necessity of retaining the power of complete control over trade telegrams to or from neutral countries adjacent to Germany.

March 18, 1915.

2. Ante, p. 704.