362.1121 Simpson, Lawrence/299: Telegram
The Ambassador in Germany (Dodd) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 1—7:10 a.m.]
297. Your Nos. 121, and 124 of September 28 and 29, respectively.17 I saw Neurath18 personally last evening on both the Simpson and the [Page 302] Spiegelberg case19 presenting to him your views and ours in the strongest possible manner.
1. He wished me to inform you that he regretted he could hold out no hope whatever for any mitigation of Simpson’s sentence; that he felt the sentence was fully justified by the crime and was in fact lenient; that in a recent general discussion of treatment of foreign Communists with the Chancellor the latter’s views had been very definite, that he (Neurath) could not therefore deviate from the law and policy “even for an American”; that medical reports had not shown Simpson to be mentally defective; and that any possible injustice towards Simpson resulting from long imprisonment before indictment had been rectified by the application of all time served against the entire sentence. He would, however, consider my representations and thought that the case might be taken up again in several months with some possibility of readjustment. I left an aide-mémoire with him on the case.
If there had been any hope for success otherwise it faded entirely when Neurath referred to a telegram before him, parts of which he read, just received from Luther reporting among other things that since the sentence had been pronounced the American press had largely given up the case or softened its tone. To this must be added, as background, the German Government’s recent crusading anti-Bolshevik pronouncements made for both domestic and foreign consumption.
2. Neurath reacted quite differently to the Spiegelberg case. He was sympathetic and made notes of the facts promising to do what he could to bring about a satisfactory settlement on the basis of the case itself. He said an early decision would be forthcoming.