File No. 872.51/25
The Serbian Minister ( Michaïlovitch ) to the Secretary of State 1
[Received May 21.]
Excellency: In connection with my previous memorandum and-duly authorized by my Government I have the honour to submit [Page 592] to Your Excellency this memorandum which I trust will receive favourable consideration. It is relative to the needs of the Serbian Government and Army for which the Serbian Government hope they will receive financial support similar to the help extended to our allies, England, France, Italy and Belgium.
England and France as allies of Serbia are giving whole-hearted support for the maintenance of the Serbian Army at the front as well as for the other needs of Serbian Government. It is owing to their energy and generosity that the Serbian Army is actually able to continue to fight for the liberation of Serbia and that the Serbian Government is enabled to work on as the representative of the Serbian people. But England and France, besides their own enormous expenditures, are helping Russia, Italy, Rumania, Belgium and Portugal, and therefore are unable to meet some of the Serbian war needs.
- 1.
- The Serbian Headquarters on the Salonica front made out a list of all railroad requisites: machines, wagons, other materials necessary to the quick and regular communications there, but up to now it has been impossible to obtain this material in Europe, which is handicapping the military operations. The money needed for these supplies is calculated at $4,000,000.
- 2.
- Notwithstanding the good will of the English and French authorities there is a great lack of technical requisites and tools necessary for the construction and keeping up of roads, hospitals, sanitary and other materials.
- 3.
- The enemy have ruined Serbia’s territory. In their present retreat they are demolishing everything, taking away all food and live stock and deporting all men fit for work. It is necessary to supply the Serbian population in these regions with food, clothes, medicines as well as seeds and agricultural implements. The Serbian Government should have all these in stock at Salonica in order to be able, following the progress of our Army, to supply the population with them and to facilitate the further military operations.
- 4.
- The Serbian Government has no means of extending help: to the military invalids and maimed soldiers in the country, or abroad, to the families of the only sons who were supporting their families and are always on the front, as well as to the prisoners and those interned in the enemy countries. The Serbian people who are remaining in the invaded territory are in a desperate condition, especially those under Bulgarian occupation because the Bulgarian Government refuses to allow any help on behalf of the Serbian Government to be sent to the hungry population.
If the United States Government could send some help to all these distressed populations they would render the greatest help [Page 593] to a small people that is being systematically annihilated by its enemies.
These are the needs which should be met besides the regular help already given, in order to preserve the health and the morale of the Serbian Army up to the time of the final victory over the enemy, and such aid can be obtained only from the United States.
The Serbian Government is of the opinion that the most urgent needs could be met if a modest credit of $1,000,000 monthly were extended them to be forwarded every three months in advance. From this sum all necessary expenses could be met. After the exhaustion of this credit the Serbian Government would present an account of the expenditures.
In terminating this memorandum I beg to inform Your Excellency that the news of your Government’s taking into favourable consideration my previous memorandum of this subject has strengthened the Serbian people’s hope in a better future, and they believe this friendly solicitude of the great Republic to be a guaranty for its existence and progress.
While the Serbian Army is actually fighting in a desperate way against the common enemy, the Serbian people are looking with much concern into the near future, when after the victory, they will go back to their devastated homes where the enemy have destroyed everything that they could. After the victory there will begin the work of the restoration of the Serbian territories and the Serbian Government is already turning its looks toward the United States in order to obtain help for that work. The Serbian people hope that the redeemed liberty and the union of the Serbian race will be achieved with the help of the free and mighty Republic of the United States which will soon repair all the frightfulness of the present war and help it to join the ranks of democratic and progressive countries.
I avail myself [etc.]
- Copy transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury on May 22.↩