711.672/129: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Special Mission at Lausanne
263. … It is important to take precautions against the possible interpretation that no American of any State could hold real property in Turkey if any American State or States deny rights in real property to all foreigners or to Turks. It should be made perfectly clear that the right of Americans to hold real property in Turkey must be determined by reference to the laws of the particular state from which they come, and that reciprocity refers to the laws of the respective states. The treaty with France of 1853 furnishes a precedent. In order that there may be no misunderstanding, this interpretation should be clearly indicated either in an exchange of notes or by a formal statement in the procès-verbal.