File No. 872.48/145
The Secretary of State to the Serbian Minister ( Michaïlovitch )
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your courteous note of December 28, 1917,2 requesting the assistance of this Government in the relief of the Serbian civilian population in that part of Serbia which is occupied by enemy forces, the Swiss Federal Council having determined to assume this task provided that such action is agreeable to the Governments of the United States, Great Britain and France.
[Page 608]In reply I beg to inform you that your note and the request contained therein have had my most careful consideration. I must, however, point out several obstacles to the proposal which, to my regret, must be surmounted before acquiescence in this humanitarian undertaking may be given.
In the case of Serbia, it is understood, the difficulties and hardships undergone by the civilian population are principally due to the requisitioning by her enemies of practically all her native foodstuffs, which inasmuch as Serbia is normally self-sustaining, has brought her population to the present pass. There is reason to believe also that the requisitioning of her food supplies is proceeding at the present time. It is obvious, therefore, that in the absence of absolute guarantees that the native food products of Serbia will be reserved to the Serbian population, any augmentation thereof by importation to Serbia would be of assistance to her enemies. In the case of Belgian relief, undertaken by the Allies, such guarantees were obtained from the German Government; but none as yet have been given by the enemies of Serbia in the proposed plan for the relief of the Serbian population.
Also, the foodstuffs that may be exported from the United States and the available tonnage for their shipment overseas are limited, and it is extremely doubtful that the purchase and shipment of the large amount of supplies necessitated by compliance with your request would be feasible.
In this connection I venture to point out that the American Red Cross, with the approval of this Government, is now planning to provision all Serbian prisoners of war in enemy countries which, in itself, is no light undertaking in view of the limited amount of food which may be exported from the United States and the shortage of available tonnage in its transportation.
Accept [etc.]
- Not printed.↩