File No. 763.72113/469
The Secretary of State to the Alien Property Custodian ( Palmer)
Sir: I acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 26th ultimo1 in which you advise me of certain deposit accounts reported to you by the Riggs National Bank of Washington, D. C., held in the name of the Swedish Legation, Department of Austro-Hungarian Interests. You ask me to advise you whether there is any diplomatic reason why you should not demand that this money be paid over to you.
I am strongly of the opinion that, unless you have evidence that an improper use is being made of these funds, no attempt should be made on the part of this Government to acquire them. I believe that in this matter we should be guided by the practice of belligerents during our neutrality when we were in charge of the interests of other belligerents. While we were still neutral, the American Embassy in Berlin had on deposit in the Deutsche Bank and the Reichs Bank in Berlin, checking accounts for the British, Servian, Japanese, and Roumanian Governments. On behalf of Great Britain, the Embassy had on deposit at one time over 1,000,000 marks and also had a deposit account of about 100,000 marks in a special fund called the Sir Edward Goschen Fund. The Embassy was permitted to draw on these funds freely and there was never any question as to their use. The German Government was fully informed as to the purposes of the funds and was also informed on whose behalf they had been deposited.
Accordingly, I strongly urge, as a matter of policy and in recognition of diplomatic usages, that the funds in the Riggs National Bank of Washington, in the name of the Swedish Legation, Department of Austro-Hungarian Interests, be not disturbed, unless evidence is presented of the improper use of these funds, in which case the Department would be pleased to be informed thereof before any action is taken.
[Page 336]In this connection, I enclose herewith a memorandum left with me under date of the 19th instant by the Swedish Minister.1
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