File No. 311.62/2333
The Secretary of State to the Swiss Chargé ( Hübscher)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Switzerland, in charge of German interests in the United States, and has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of his memorandum dated June 1, 1918, enclosing a copy of a note verbale forwarded by the German Government through the Swiss Foreign Office for transmission to this Government, protesting against the treatment of German subjects in the Dominican Republic.
In reply the Secretary of State begs to inform the Chargé d’Affaires that the complaints made in the note verbale from the German Government have been thoroughly investigated, and a report thereon has been received, and no trace has been found of shameful treatment of German nationals in the Dominican Republic which is alleged in the German note.
[Page 239]It appears from the report that several German nationals have been convicted in a military court for the unauthorized possession of arms and ammunition, but these prisoners in every case have received the same humane treatment as citizens of other countries convicted of similar offenses. Certain other German nationals have been placed under arrest for observation and safe-keeping under the strongest suspicion of plotting insurrection against the military authority of the Dominican Republic. These prisoners have been treated with great consideration, and except for their being always deprived of their freedom, they are entirely comfortable and there is no foundation for any of the complaints on their part.
The report concludes with the statement that the investigator from his own personal knowledge is in a position to state that any charge of inhuman treatment of Germans in the Dominican Republic is completely false and without any basis in fact.