763.72119/2979: Telegram

The Minister in Sweden ( Morris ) to the Acting Secretary of State

3320. I have received following letter from King’s Chamberlain with an enclosure which King requests be sent to you. Letter reads:

“His Majesty the King has received telegram from Protestant churches in Hungary, of which copy is enclosed.

His Majesty, who takes the interests of all Protestant churches warmly to heart, desires me to ask whether you would be kind enough to forward telegram in question to your Government with view to having interests of any Protestant churches in Hungary brought up for consideration at forthcoming Peace Conference.”

Enclosure reads:

“Protestant churches of Republic of Hungary, numbering four millions of adherents, implore Your Majesty’s protection against threatening danger of dismemberment. The eventual disruption of the country, especially the loss of southeastern Hungary with her 1,200,000 Protestants, would strike death blow to vitality of these churches, and thereby would rob newly forming democracies in this part of world of most valuable moral and spiritual forces. During four centuries these churches served and suffered as furthest bulwark of western Protestantism in east of Europe. Now it is the turn of western Christendom to rescue future efficiency of these churches for immense tasks awaiting them.”

Morris