File No. 763.72114/3854
The Minister in Switzerland (Stovall) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 26, 1.40 a.m.]
4062. Swiss Government has informed American Red Cross and similar organizations of other countries that on and after August 1 Swiss Federal Railway Conference will charge half rates for the transport of foodstuffs hitherto carried free. Swiss Government bases this action on bad financial condition of Swiss railways and on its interpretation of article 16, paragraph 2 of annex of Hague convention regarding laws and customs land warfare referring to freedom from payment for carriage by government railways. Swiss Government refers to article 7 of same convention to the effect that prisoners of war must receive food, et cetera, from captor state equal to that furnished by that state to its own army and maintains that when a state, owing to great victualing difficulties is no longer in a position to feed its prisoners as it does its own troops and private or official aid associations undertake provisioning of prisoners with articles of prevailing necessity, these can no longer be considered as in the sense of article 16, but on the contrary must be looked upon as supplements to the more or less insufficient rations furnished by the captor state.
My British and French colleagues have telegraphed to their Governments for instructions and the French Ambassador proposes calling a meeting. Desire instructions as to whether I shall join in an objection to Swiss Government which I anticipate will be made. I shall endeavor to form estimate of cost involved and report further.