811.91262/242: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Leahy) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 17—3:35 p.m.]
1143. From Paris. Department’s 955 April 9, 8 p.m., received today. I have just sent the following letter to Count Thun, diplomatic liaison officer in the German Embassy here:
“On March 25th I wrote to you about the arrest of Mr. Jay Allen, an American journalist, who had clandestinely crossed the demarcation line. I am writing to you again on the subject, first, because Mr. Allen is still in prison at Chalon, secondly, because thus far I have had no word from you about the case, and thirdly, because I have received urgent telegrams of inquiry from the Department of State in Washington. One of the latest of these telegrams states that the Department is receiving increasingly numerous and imperative inquiries concerning the welfare of Mr. Allen from various points in the United States and that the Department must know the latest facts in the case in order appropriately to reply to these inquiries.
I stated in my letter of March 25 that it was my understanding that in general the military authorities on the line of demarcation impose only minor penalties on those persons who clandestinely cross the demarcation line. I added that it was my understanding that of the 60 or more persons arrested in the vicinity of Chalon on the day that Mr. Allen was arrested nearly all had been released either upon the payment of a relatively small fine or upon the completion of a prison sentence of short duration. I now wish to state that since writing to you on March 25 I personally have talked with numerous persons arrested at the time Mr. Allen was arrested who have since been released and who are now in Paris. I therefore cannot avoid the thought that Mr. Allen is being subjected to unusual treatment because he is an American citizen.
I naturally feel an obligation to do the utmost that I can to assure that Mr. Allen is not being subjected to hardship primarily because of his citizenship. Furthermore I have been instructed by the Department of State to exhaust every possibility to obtain Mr. Allen’s release especially in view of the fact that I have every reason to believe that there can exist no charge against him except of having clandestinely crossed the demarcation line. In this connection my Government has instructed me formally to request of the German authorities that either I or a representative chosen from my staff be allowed to visit Mr. Allen at Chalon without delay.
I hope that you will find it possible to aid me in the settlement of this case. My specific request is (1) that the German Embassy intervene with the military authorities with a view to effecting the prompt release of Mr. Allen, (2) that authorization be granted permitting a member of my staff to visit Mr. Allen in the prison at Chalon within the next few days.
As Mr. Allen was arrested on March 13 he has already served a prison term of over one month for disregarding German regulations. [Page 607] I am sure you will comprehend the obligation under which I find myself to keep my Government informed of developments or the absence thereof in this case.”
This action was taken upon the receipt of indirect news from Allen this morning that his case has not yet been heard by the military tribunal and that he is apprehensive of further long delay. [Barnes.]