File No. 711.5914/544a
[Untitled]
Washington, April 19, 1917.
To the American Consular Officers (Including Consular Agents)
Gentlemen: By the convention concluded between the United States and Denmark on August 4, 1916, the ratifications of which were exchanged at Washington on January 17, 1917, the Government of His Majesty the King of Denmark ceded to the United States “all territory, dominion, and sovereignty, possessed, asserted, or claimed by Denmark in the West Indies, including the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, together with the adjacent islands and rocks,” in consideration of the payment by the United States within 90 days from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the convention of the sum of $25,000,000 in gold coin of the United States. The payment of this sum was made at Washington on March 31, 1917, to the agent authorized by the Government of Denmark to receive the money, and on the same day the islands were formally transferred by Denmark to the United States and possession effectively taken.
These islands, which will be known in the future as the Virgin Islands, are being administered under the Navy Department, Admiral James H. Oliver having been designated as governor.
You are instructed that any consular services you may be called upon to perform, such as certification of invoices, issuance of bills of health, etc., should, pending further instructions, be performed in the same manner as services for other insular possessions of the United States, such as the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico.
I am [etc.]