Office of the Historian

File No. 763.72114/5528

The Counselor for the Department of State ( Polk) to the British Ambassador ( Spring Rice)

Washington, December 22, 1917.

My Dear Sir Cecil: On the 17th you handed me a confidential memorandum from your Government in regard to forwarding supplies for the use of Russian prisoners in Germany. I find upon inquiry that the only food supplies that have been shipped from the United States in the last few months to Russian prisoners of war in Germany consist of 140 tons of flour and 40 tons of sugar. These shipments were made by the Committee of Relief for Russian Prisoners of War at Berne, Switzerland.

Mr. Bouimistrov of the Russian Embassy has agreed to discourage any further shipments of food from the United States to Germany for prisoners of war until the result of the armistice between Germany and Russia was clearly known.

Yours sincerely,

[
Frank L. Polk
]