Office of the Historian

File No. 862.20212/69

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page)

[Telegram]
Washington, February 28, 1917, 8 p.m.

4493. Your 5747, February 24, 1 p.m. Please endeavor to obtain copy of German code from Mr. Balfour, decode following messages and telegraph translations. All three messages are dated [Page 153] January 17, signed Bernstorff, and addressed to the German Legations at Bogotá, Port-au-Prince, and Santiago, Chile, respectively.

[Here follow code messages.]

Effort will be made to secure copies of all German cipher messages as far back as possible and if the Department were in possession of the code there would be a great saving of time and expense. Contents of messages decoded here would of course be communicated to the British Government.

Publication of Z[immermann]’s telegram to Mexico to-morrow.

Lansing