File No. 763.72114/3044
The Secretary of State to the British Ambassador ( Spring Rice )1
Excellency: Referring to the memorandum dated November 15, 1917,2 of the British Embassy and the Department’s reply thereto dated January 3, 1918,2 concerning the provisioning of all Serbian prisoners of war in enemy countries by the American National Red Cross, I have the honor further to inform you that a credit will be extended to the Serbian Government, and that the Red Cross is now ready to make purchases for shipments of food for this purpose.
Before making a final decision in this matter, however, I would be pleased to have a definite expression of the views of the British Government that it concurs in the proposed provisioning of all Serbian prisoners of war by the American National Red Cross, and that the shipments of food to be sent to Switzerland for distribution to the prisoners will be facilitated as much as possible by His Majesty’s Government.
I have [etc.]