861.5151/185: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt)
116. Your 144, January 23, 8 p.m. You are authorized when discussing this matter again with Soviet officials orally and informally to state that your Government has instructed you that it is surprised at the demands of Soviet officials referred to in the first sentence of the telegram. You may state that your Government considers that in view of the currency situation in the Soviet Union, these demands entail an unjust hardship upon American citizens in territories under Soviet control and may make it impossible for those without dollar resources to return to the United States. You may add that the tendency of Soviet authorities to discriminate against American citizens in the Soviet Union and to take steps causing them unnecessary hardships is in part responsible for the reluctance of your Government to issue to American citizens passports good for travel to the Soviet Union. In case Soviet officials point out that the new regulations do not apply to American engineers, you may reply that the American Government cannot recognize such artificial divisions as may be made by the Soviet Government of American citizens in the Soviet Union into categories for the purpose of discriminating against one or another category.
Please inform the Department whether these new regulations apply equally to citizens of all foreign countries.57