Office of the Historian

File No. 763.72114A/194

The Minister in Switzerland ( Stovall) to the Secretary of State

[Telegram]
Berne, September 25, 1918, 4 p.m.
[Received September 27, 5 a.m.]

10. [From Garrett]:

The Prisoners of War Conference was opened at 5 o’clock yesterday by the Swiss President who made a speech of welcome which [Page 92] was responded to by Prince zu Hohenlohe Langenburg, chairman of the German delegation, and by the chairman of the American delegation. The Swiss President having given the chair to Mr. Dinichert of the Swiss Political Department, the two delegations exchanged bases of agreement which they had drawn up and then adjourned for separate deliberation to meet on the call of the presiding officer. As far as it has gone the conference has been satisfactory.

The American basis includes all points covering treatment of prisoners of war, internment and repatriation of invalid prisoners, retention of submarine officers and crews,1 but does not include repatriation or internment of valid prisoners. The German proposals are now being compared with ours. A hasty reading shows unessential differences except in three cases, in which they ask:

(1)
Repatriation of all prisoners of war after 18 months regardless of rank or number;
(2)
Setting free of all civilian prisoners and the repatriation of those who desire it, including crews of merchant ships, and that in future civilians shall not in principle be imprisoned but may be removed and their freedom circumscribed if personal behavior makes that necessary; and
(3)
The United States to do all in its power to the end that all Germans interned in Peru [Panama] and Cuba shall be set free and at their wish repatriated.

It was mutually decided that all the proceedings should be confidential. Garrett.

Stovall
  1. Sec. 19 of the American proposal provides: “Nothing in this agreement shall be held or construed as requiring the exchange, repatriation or internment in a neutral country, until after the signature of a treaty of peace between the parties to this agreement, of any commissioned, warrant or appointed officer, or petty officer of any submarine vessel, or of any man or member of its crew.” (File No. 763.72114A/434.)↩