794.41114/9–3044: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)
3656. Please request Swiss to inform the Japanese Government that the Soviet Foreign Office has stated that the Soviet postal authorities are prepared to transport parcel post containing medical supplies for American prisoners of war and civilian internees in the Far East provided the Japanese Postal Administration agrees to accept such parcels from the Soviet postal authorities. Such medical supplies will be shipped in packets weighing not more than two kilograms and otherwise complying with the dimension and weight requirements of the Universal Postal Convention. They will be placed in sacks similar to those which carry letter correspondence of civilian internees and prisoners of war and will be dispatched in the closed mails addressed to the terminal point in Japan with the notation “Via Tehran-Moscow”. The mail sacks will be labeled “correspondence of prisoners of war”. Medical supplies sent by this method will not exceed 100 kilograms per month and will not contain articles the transmission of which is prohibited by Article 46, Point C of the 1939 Postal Convention.23
[Page 1066]Medical parcels will be mailed by the American Red Cross and addressed to camp spokesmen at camps where American nationals are held.
Amcross has been dispatching to camp spokesmen in Far East via Tehran 160 pounds weekly of such supplies in hope that they would reach addressees. Shipments will now be limited to 100 kilograms per month and will continue on assumption that Japanese authorities will receive and forward such parcels to the addressees. Swiss should request urgent assurances in this regard from Japanese.
- Signed at Buenos Aires, May 23, 1939; 54 Stat. (pt. 2) 2049.↩