The Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Treasury ( McAdoo )

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of September 21 enclosing a copy of a letter dated the 20th instant from the collector of customs at New York relative to certain alterations which are in progress on the British steamships Laconia and Tuscania.

In reply I beg to confirm the telephone conversation had with your Department last evening to the effect that these ships appear to be to all intents and purposes army transports, and therefore should not be allowed to outfit in a United States port for the carriage of troops and must be returned to the condition in which they arrived in port. Clearance of the vessels should be granted as soon as they have been put in their former condition.

If the collector of customs at New York has any information in regard to these ships being in the service of the British Government, when this service began, its nature, etc., this Department would be glad to be advised thereof, but clearance of the vessels should not be withheld to procure such information.

I have [etc.]

For the Secretary of State:
William Phillips