File No. 763.72119/68
The Secretary of State ad interim to the Ambassador in Germany (Gerard)
Sir: The Department has received information from numerous sources concerning the attitude of the German people toward the present war and, in order to be correctly informed, desires that you send confidentially full and complete reports concerning the feeling of the German people on the following lines:
First, the relations between the Foreign Office and the General Staff;
Second, the strength of the Socialistic Party and how far it is in sympathy with the military régime;
Third, concerning the group known as the Bund Neues Vaterland;
Fourth, as much as possible concerning the feeling of the general public toward the war and especially the war methods adopted by Germany;
Fifth, the attitude of the general public regarding the future of Belgium.
In reporting on these matters it is respectfully suggested that you consult various sources in Germany, in order that the Department may have on file information of an important and unbiased nature.
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