File No. 355.11/673
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Spain ( Willard)
479. For Berlin:
Department has received positive information that American citizens in Belgium and Germany, who have been endeavoring for some time to leave, are not yet permitted to do so by German authorities. As an example of undue detention may be mentioned the cases of two Americans, Clayton and Whipple, in Antwerp. Department is at a loss to understand the reason thereof, as this Government has always acted promptly on applications of German subjects leaving the United States.
Please bring the foregoing urgently to the attention of the Imperial Government and ask for a full and definite statement of its attitude towards the departure of American citizens in Germany and German occupied territory.