701.0090/1704a: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)

1736. American interests—Far East, repatriation. In order to avoid difficulties and delays at the port of exchange Department requests that Swiss representatives in Far East endeavor to effect arrangements along following lines:

1.
Swiss delegate traveling on each Japanese exchange vessel should be provided before departure a list in triplicate alphabetically arranged showing by ports name and age, sex, family relationship and nationality of all individuals who, according to reports made to Department in advance by Swiss representatives, are to be embarked on the vessel.
2.
Swiss representatives shall at each port of embarkation have privilege of notifying Swiss Minister, Tokyo, by telegraph of any discrepancy between passengers listed for embarkation and those actually embarked. This information should be transmitted to Department without delay. It should cover all data regarding passengers specified in paragraph 1 above and the Legation should repeat it to Bombay for repetition to American Export Lines representative [Page 887] at Mormugão. Hospital cases among the passengers should be handled similarly with particular attention called to them.
3.
Swiss representative on each exchange vessel shall appoint an advisory committee from the passengers to consider questions of berthing on Gripsholm at exchange port. A copy of the list of passengers referred to in 1 should be made available to this committee. The duties of the committee shall be to prepare a complete detailed passenger list and to determine which of the individuals on each of the Japanese vessels are entitled by virtue of official position, age, physical condition, or because they are accompanied by small children, to receive preferential berthing on Gripsholm. It should be made clear to the committee that it is the desire of the Department that the classes of persons referred to shall receive preferential berthing and that young and healthy individuals shall receive the less comfortable accommodations regardless of considerations of rank, family relationship or position. The Department suggests that each advisory committee comprise at least five individuals, one of whom should be a Canadian and one a national of one of the other American republics. Chairmanship should be elective.
4.
Advisory committee on each exchange vessel shall prepare complete passenger lists of those vessels in 20 copies showing passengers’ names in alphabetical order of family names and numbered consecutively and indicating age, sex, relationship to other passengers, nationality, special or official status if any, physical condition and race. The committee should furthermore prepare a list of the passengers requiring special berthing because of infirmity, illness or age, together with such recommendations as may be necessary in each case. This list must likewise be prepared in 20 copies. The committee should fully familiarize itself with the problems and condition of each passenger and be prepared to assist in the assignment of cabins and berths, in the distribution of tags and labels and in such other tasks as may be required when the port of exchange is reached.
5.
All the Japanese passengers being accommodated on one vessel are thus free to discuss among themselves any problems they may have to confront which are similar in nature to the problems dealt with by the American advisory committees. As the Americans being repatriated will be separated on two vessels, it is requested that the Swiss representatives in the Far East arrange if possible that messages regarding berthing problems and other problems incident to the work of the advisory committees on each Japanese exchange vessel may be exchanged between those committees through the Swiss delegates.

Hull