File No. 763.72/3541a
The Department of State to the Argentine Embassy 1
The Department of State has the honor to state for the information of the Argentine Embassy that in view of the announcement of the Imperial German Government on January 31, 1917, that all ships, those of neutrals included, met within certain zones of the high seas, would be sunk Without any precautions being taken for the safety of the persons on board, and without the exercise of visit and search, the Government of the United States has de termined to place upon all American merchant vessels sailing through the barred areas an armed guard for the protection of the vessels and the lives of the persons on board.
- The same, mutatis mutandis, on the same date, to all foreign embassies and legations at Washington.↩