File No. 763.72112 Sa/52
The Swiss Chargé ( Hübscher) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s note of August 2, 1918,1 with regard to German safe conducts, informing me that the Government of the United States would be pleased to receive assurances of a more specific character than those given in my note of July 30, 1918,1 and that it would appreciate advices as to whether the Swiss Government has been informed by the Imperial German Government that it considers the agreement relative to safe conduct for vessels under enemy flag, engaged in the Swiss transportation service, as actually in operation and binding.
The content of Your Excellency’s note has been cabled to my Government, which replies that the period of three months stipulated in article III–3 of the agreement of April 24, 1918, between the Swiss and the Imperial German Governments relative to safe conducts, expired on July 24, 1918, and the dispositions of this agreement are, therefore, in full operation.
For your guidance, I beg to quote translation of article III–3 in question:
A positive guaranty of safety cannot be assumed before the expiration of three months after the issuance of the orders to the German naval forces, as only at the expiration of such period will [Page 1638] there be complete certainty that all the naval officers in command will have received these instructions. Instructions will be issued immediately upon the acceptance of the agreement—
the original German text of which reads:
Fine Gewähr für unbedingt sichere Fahrt kann nicht vor Ablauf von drei Monaten nach der Befehlserteilung an die deutschen See streitgräfte übernommen werden, da erst nach Ablauf dieser Zeit Sicherheit dafür besteht, dass alle Seestreitkräfte den erlassenen Befehl erhalten haben. Der Befehl wird sofort nach Annahme der vorstehenden Regelung erteilt werden.
The expression in my note of July 30, 1918, that “a positive guaranty of safety will be given” after the expiration of a period of three months from the date on which instructions had been issued to the German naval forces is, therefore, to be interpreted to mean that after the expiration of the said three months the German Government, without specific notification to the Swiss Government, assures a positive guaranty of safety.
I have the honor also to inform Your Excellency that the Swiss Government will issue safe conducts for all American vessels returning from the French port of Cette to a United States port, provided those vessels return in ballast or with cargo approved by the German Government.
Accept [etc.]