File No. 763.72111R24/75
The British Ambassador ( Spring Rice) to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: With reference to previous correspondence on the subject of the so-called San Francisco recruiting case, I beg to enclose herewith applications for Executive clemency made by Dr. Thomas Addis and Mr. Ralph K. Blair recently convicted by the Federal Court of San Francisco for an infraction of the neutrality law of the United States on account of their activities in facilitating the passage to Great Britain of trained British soldiers.1
I would not request you to be so good as to transmit these applications to their high destination were I not personally convinced that there was no intention whatever on the part of Messrs. Addis and Blair to violate in any way the laws of the United States, that they are persons of high character actuated by no hope of gain and have acted throughout on patriotic motives. There is of course no question of moral turpitude.
Believe me [etc.]
- Not printed.↩