Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1918, Supplement 2, The World War

File No. 138/609

The Secretary of Commerce ( Redfield) to Steamship Lines Engaged in Foreign Passenger Service ²

94343–N

Washington, June 5, 1917.

Sir: You are hereby formally requested, on and after the receipt of this communication, not to accept as a passenger on any oceangoing vessel of your company, departing from the United States and bound for a foreign port, nor to permit the departure thereon as a passenger, of any citizen of the United States unless such citizen has in his or her possession a valid passport issued by the Department of State of the United States, which passport shall be submitted for examination and approval of the United States Collector of Customs at the port of departure before departure; and not to accept as a passenger on any ocean-going vessel of your company departing from the United States and bound for a foreign port, nor to permit the departure thereon as a passenger, of any alien, unless such alien has in his or her possession a valid passport or official document in the nature of a passport satisfactorily establishing his or her identity and nationality, which passport or document shall be submitted for examination and visa to the Collector of Customs of the United States at the port of departure prior to departure.

A favorable reply to the above request at your earliest convenience will be appreciated.

Respectfully,

[No signature indicated]

2. Enclosed in a letter from the Solicitor for the Department of Commerce to the Acting Chief of the Bureau of Citizenship of the Department of State, June 11, 1917.