393.4163/a
The Secretary of State to the Reverend A. L. Warnshuis, Secretary of the Foreign Mission Conference of North America
Sir:
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It may interest you to know that in June, last, the Department authorized the Legation at Peking and the American consular officers to use their discretion in the matter of advising and of issuing travel passes to American citizens desiring to travel or reside in the interior of China.33 The Department continues to regard it as generally inadvisable for American citizens, especially women and children, to reside in the interior, but it recognizes the fact that some regions may be safe, even though others may not be, and it desires that the advice given by its officials in China shall be based upon the circumstances in each case.
I am [etc.]
Chief, Division of Far Eastern Affairs