File No. 763.72115/3227

The Secretary of State to the Swiss Minister ( Sulzer )

No. 49

Sir: I have the honor to inform you that between the 15th and 22d of December, 1917, there will arrive in San Francisco, Calif., 423 male German aliens, 18 German women and 13 German children who were removed from the German merchant vessels in the harbors of the Philippine Islands. The Government of the United States has considered it advisable to intern these male alien enemies for the duration of the war but is unwilling at present to intern the [Page 227] women and children, provided they are found to be admissible under the immigration law.

Inasmuch as these women and children are presumably without means of support, I desire to bring the matter to your attention, as in charge of German interests in the United States, for such steps as you may be able to take towards affording them relief, in order that they may not be left in a destitute condition in San Francisco, Calif.

Accept [etc.]

Robert Lansing