File No. 861.00/3119
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Russia (Francis)
[Telegram]
Washington, November
6, 1918, 4 p.m.
343. For your information. Navy Department has informed this Department that upon the assumption of the duties of Commander [Page 566] the United States naval forces in northern Russia, Rear Admiral N. A. McCully was given the following instructions as to policy:
- 1.
- Call promptly on our Ambassador and consult with him freely.
- 2.
- Read carefully the President’s proclamation on Siberian intervention, and the attached despatch of the State Department to our Ambassador to Russia. Shape your policy in accordance with these pronouncements.
- 3.
- Cooperate with the military and naval forces of the Allies, in so far as the policies above indicated and the forces at your disposal permit. Maintain cordial relations with the senior United States Army officer.
- 4.
- Exert your influence towards the conservation and support of local Russian authority, except where that authority is exercised in a manner contrary to the interests of the Russian people.
- 5.
- Your actions should make it clear that you are the sincere friend of the Russian people, and that American forces have no ulterior military or political motive inimical to Russian sovereignty.
- 6.
- Subject to the restrictions imposed by our Government’s policy and by these instructions, you will regard yourself as under the orders of the senior naval officer of the cobelligerent powers present in northern Russian waters.
Lansing