701.9111/455
The Secretary of State to the Iranian Minister (Djalal)
Sir: With reference to your Note of December 2, 1935,2 protesting against the treatment to which you were subjected on November 27, [Page 343] 1935, by the police of Elkton, Maryland, I have the honor to inform you that I am now in receipt of a letter from the Honorable the Governor of Maryland. The Governor states that the offending officers, Constable Clayton Ellison and Town Officer Jacob Biddle, have been tried and fined and that both officers are no longer in the public service. In transmitting this information the Governor requests me to extend to you an expression of his apologies for this incident which he profoundly deplores.
In conveying to you this message from the Governor of Maryland I desire to add my own sincere expression of regret on the part of this Government that you should have been subjected to discourteous treatment and to assure you of the satisfaction with which I have learned of the prompt remedial measures which have been taken by the Maryland authorities. At the same time I consider it my duty to point out that according to the available information this deplorable incident would not have occurred had your chauffeur observed the regulations in force in Elkton regarding the speed limit of automotive vehicles.
In this connection I may state that this Government has at all times impressed upon its own diplomatic officers in foreign countries that the enjoyment of diplomatic immunity imposes upon them the obligation and responsibility of according scrupulous regard to the laws and regulations, both national and local, of the countries to which they are accredited. I feel confident that the Iranian Government will share the view that this Government is justified in expecting that foreign diplomatic officers accredited to the United States will manifest a similar regard for the laws and regulations in force in this country.
Accept [etc.]
- Not printed.↩