Office of the Historian

File No. 763.72/2368

The Secretary of the Navy (Daniels) to the Secretary of State

[Extract]
Washington, January 28, 1916.

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your confidential letter of the 26th instant,1 enclosing a copy of the statement made by the German Foreign Office, as given to the American Ambassador at Berlin, in relation to the request of the German Government that American warships in the Mediterranean fly the national flag during the day and illuminate ships and flag during the night.2

In reply, this Department, in view of the reasons furnished in its letter of December 10, 1915, to the Department of State, regrets exceedingly that it is unable to change its attitude in relation to this matter. . . .

Very sincerely yours,

Josephus Daniels
  1. Not printed.↩
  2. The statement referred to, contained in the Ambassador’s telegram No. 3386 of January 24, 1916 (not printed), is a résumé of the note from the German Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, post, p. 1057.↩