124.516/350: Telegram
The Chargé in Germany (Morris) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:15 p.m.]
876. Department’s 602, March 3, 7 p.m. A secretary of the Embassy called on the competent official of the Foreign Office today and was informed that a courier service between Paris and Vichy could not be authorized as the American Embassy at Paris was no longer considered to have diplomatic status and accordingly not entitled to the various diplomatic privileges including a courier service. The official went on to say that the Foreign Office realized the necessity for the various “remnants” of diplomatic missions in Paris to have some means of communication with their embassies and legations in Vichy and that therefore it has established the present official mail service which had taken considerable time and trouble to organize and saw no reason why our Paris office should not make use of it. When the secretary mentioned to him that this official mail service was not the proper means of communication such as are commonly permitted representatives of foreign governments he again referred to the Foreign Office’s point of view that our Embassy in Paris had no diplomatic status and that in fact it was doubtful whether any of the remaining missions in Paris would be there much longer. He then referred to the many difficulties that had arisen lately in connection with couriers of various nationalities traveling between Paris and Vichy and to the desire on the part of the German military authorities in Paris to put an end to all courier traffic between these two points. The secretary then suggested as an alternative a courier service between Paris and Madrid or Paris and Berlin. This suggestion the official said would be taken into consideration in the Foreign Office’s reply to the Embassy’s memorandum but held out little hope that either of these alternatives would be given favorable consideration.