702.6511/1353
The Secretary of State to the Italian Ambassador ( Colonna )
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Royal Italian Ambassador and has the honor to refer to the latter’s memorandum of March 6, 1941, raising certain questions in connection with the request of this Government that the Italian officials in the United States confine their movements to those areas in which they exercise recognized duties of their respective offices.
The request of this Government would not, of course, preclude the Italian Ambassador calling to Washington Italian officials to confer with him as it is recognized that such would be part of his and their duties.
Special couriers carrying official mail to and from Italian consular offices in the United States may proceed in the discharge of their duties provided their names as well as the offices between which they travel are communicated to the Department of State.
The Department’s request is not intended to include the wives, children and servants of Italian officials in the United States.
The request of the Department of State applies to employees of the Embassy and Italian consular offices in the exercise of their duties regardless of nationality.
It is anticipated that Italian officers shall obtain permission in case of need to leave the areas in which they exercise their duties in the same manner as prescribed with regard to the limitation imposed upon American consular officers in Italy by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ note of February 11, 1941.5 This note states that the Ministry [Page 799] of Foreign Affairs will facilitate the trips to be made by the personnel of the missions or of consular officers which are notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Chief of the diplomatic mission concerned. In other words, the Department of State will be glad to take into consideration any requests from the Italian Ambassador relating to such necessary trips.
- Text of note quoted in telegram No. 208, February 13, 7 p.m., from the Ambassador in Italy, not printed.↩