File No. 811.741/155

The Secretary of State to the British Ambassador ( Spring Rice )

No. 749]

Excellency: Referring to your note of March 26, 1915, with regard to the request of the Governor of British Honduras for information as to whether this Government would be willing to permit the sending of commercial messages by radio from that colony to addresses in the United States, through New Orleans, in code, under certain restrictions, I have the honor to inform you that this Government deems it inadvisable to grant the permission desired by the Governor of British Honduras. The transmission of commercial code messages between the United States radio stations and radio stations in foreign belligerent countries has not been permitted even in the case of the Tuckerton station operated under control of the Navy Department, and it is not considered advisable to make an exception to this rule in the case of radio stations in belligerent territory.

I have [etc.]

W. J. Bryan