File No. 893.001Y9/15
The Secretary of State to the Chinese Minister
Washington, June 8, 1916.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of Tuesday’s date by which you officially convey the sad intelligence of the death on the morning of that day of His Excellency Yuan [Page 99] Shih-Kai, President of China, and inform me of the assumption of the duties of that high office by Vice President Li Yuan-hung in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic.
The President, in a telegram to His Excellency, Li Yuan-hung has expressed the deep sympathy of the Government and people of the United States in this sad bereavement which has befallen the people of your country as well as his personal sympathy, and that of Mrs. Wilson, for Madame Yuan, and the best wishes for the continued prosperity of the Chinese people under President Li’s administration.
Accept [etc.]