File No. 763.72112Sa/16
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Great Britain ( Laughlin)
8326. For Sheldon [from War Trade Board]:
No. 681. Your 748, Embassy 10509, June 8, 1 p.m. We feel that the subject of neutral vessels carrying German safe-conducts should receive very careful consideration. Safe-conducts to vessels engaged in Belgian relief may be justified since they are engaged in transporting goods destined to pass through the enemy’s lines and which goods are therefore subject to stoppage by him. The German Government now, however, appears to be adopting the practice of issuing safe-conducts which are nothing more than an assurance that the giver of the safe-conduct will not accomplish that which under international law he is forbidden to do. The safe-conduct thus becomes a device to insure control of neutral shipping through a threat to seize illegally neutral vessels not accepting this control. Unless the Associated Governments take effective steps to meet the situation, neutral shipping generally may soon be subject to enemy control in a manner which will be as effective as the control which we exercise by virtue of our bunker control. We feel that the Associated Governments may shortly desire to take the position that such safe-conduct as is now being issued by the German Government constitutes in itself a certificate that the vessel is operating subject to a form of German control. Certainly we should do nothing at the present time which should preclude us from some such action in the future should it become desirable, and we should not in any way formally acquiesce in this German system of safe-conduct.
In accordance with the foregoing views we are not prepared to give any formal consent to Swedish vessels carrying letters of safe-conduct, such as suggested in your 748; on the other hand, should Swedish vessels elect to carry such safe-conducts without our official knowledge or acquiescence, we see no objection to their doing so at the present time.