File No. 763.72112Sa/83
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page)
624. For Sheldon [from War Trade Board]:
No. 970. Your 1115, Embassy 650, July 27, 5 p.m. The Department of State is instructing American Legations at The Hague, Stockholm, Christiania, and Copenhagen, and the Embassy at Madrid that upon receipt by their British, French, and Italian colleagues of similar instructions they shall deliver to the Government to which they are accredited a note in the following terms:
The Associated Governments are reliably informed that the German Government now is attempting to control neutral shipping generally through a new device improperly termed a “safe conduct,” which constitutes in fact but a threat of illegal condemnation or destruction unless German control is accepted. Such control would extend to Germany’s supervision of the personnel of passengers and crew, the character and consignment of cargo, mails, etc., and the movements of the vessel itself. The Associated Governments observe that such control may operate to deprive vessels accepting the same of their neutral character and the Associated Governments accordingly reserve the right to deal with any vessel which has subjected itself to enemy control as the circumstances in each case may warrant. It should clearly be understood that a ship sailing under an enemy “safe conduct” will render herself liable to be detained until the conditions which the enemy government has attached to the issue of “safe conducts “have been ascertained and scrutinized, in order that such action may be taken as the circumstances may be deemed to warrant.
We are advising Mr. McFadden of the foregoing.
No instructions are being given by the Department relative to making public the above-quoted statement. We are not in favor of formal publicity of this character, feeling that the public announcement of this simultaneous joint action of the four Associated Governments in the neutral European countries will result in the public attaching great importance thereto and exaggerating the character of the action to a point where we shall appear to be weak unless we follow up our announcement by drastic action as to which we do not now wish to be committed.