123 Hirshfield, Louis M./54: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Standley)
273. Embassy’s 328, April 19, 6 p.m.58 The position of the Department in regard to Hirshfield’s59 desire to marry Mela B. Savine, a Soviet employee of the Embassy, is similar to the policy adopted in the cases of Lewis, Raymond, and others. This is that the Department will not refuse permission for Hirshfield to marry a Soviet citizen but he must submit his resignation as a Foreign Service clerk and be prepared after a reasonable period of time to depart from the Soviet Union with or without his wife.
In view of the information contained in your 333, April 21, 5 p.m., regarding the unwillingness of the Soviet Foreign Office to take any steps to facilitate the granting of exit visas for the Soviet wives of Lewis and Raymond you are authorized the next time you have occasion to see Stalin to take up this question with him. Hirshfield and Mrs. Savine might, therefore, prefer to postpone their marriage until you have had an opportunity to discuss the general question of Soviet wives of American employees with Stalin since Hirshfield might be faced with the prospect of leaving the Soviet Union unaccompanied by his wife if Stalin should adopt a negative attitude and the Soviet Government should continue to refuse to permit the wives to leave the country.
The Department is disturbed at the situation with regard to Lewis and Raymond since it cannot permit them to continue on the Embassy staff for an indefinite period and on the other hand it is reluctant to order them to depart without their families. It therefore hopes that [Page 519] you can prevail upon Stalin to adopt a reasonable attitude with regard to this question.