Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The British Commonwealth, The Soviet Union, The Near East and Africa, Volume III

841.711/2961: Telegram

The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

London, February 3, 1940—noon.
[Received February 3—7:42 a.m.]

306. Your 1448, November 17, 7 p.m.⁴ Following note dated February 1 received from Foreign Office.

“I have the honor to inform you that the competent authorities have now completed their investigation of all the cases to which Mr. Kennedy was so good as to draw my attention in his note No. 1563 of the 20th November last⁵ on the subject of the interference by the British censorship authorities with United States diplomatic and consular mail.

2. With regard to the instance numbered (1) in your note, I have the honor to state that according to the censorship regulations both diplomatic and consular correspondence, if addressed to a state department and if certified as emanating from a diplomatic mission or consulate (in order that its authenticity may be assured), is exempt from examination, though discretion has inevitably to be left to examiners as to whether a particular governmental institution is to be regarded as a state department for the purposes of examination. Enquiries are therefore being made in Madras into the case cited.

3. With regard to items (2) and (3), I have the honor to state that the correspondence of consular officers is not exempt from examination unless emanating from or addressed to a state department or diplomatic mission, except, as stated in Foreign Office circular Note No. W 13673/13452/50 of 26th September, 1939,⁶ in the case of a consul who is the senior representative of his government in the absence of a diplomatic mission in the country concerned. Unless, therefore, the correspondence cited in your note was recognisable as emanating from a privileged address, it would appear that the censorship authorities acted correctly in examining it. The same considerations apply to the case of the censorship of the correspondence of the United States Consulate at Stuttgart, to which Mr. Schoenfeld⁷ drew the attention of this department on 27th October last.

4. While in view of the above consideration I regret that instructions cannot be issued in the general sense desired by the United States Government, the censorship officials have been ordered to bear constantly in mind the high desirability of exercising the utmost consideration in dealing with consular mail, and I shall be happy to make enquiries into any cases to which you care to draw my attention where privileged correspondence appears to have been subjected to examination.”

For Foreign Office circular note referred to in paragraph 3, above, see Embassy’s telegram 1841, September 27.

Final sentence of paragraph 3 above relates to the opening by British censors of four letters addressed to the American Consulate at Stuttgart (two for the American Consul, one for Mr. Honaker⁸ and one for an American employee) brought to attention of Foreign Office at instance of Embassy, Berlin.

Johnson

4. Foreign Relations, 1939, vol. ii, p. 267.
5. Copy of note No. 1563, November 20, 1939, was sent to Department as an enclosure to despatch No. 4548, February 3, 1940; neither printed.
6. See telegram No. 1841, September 27, 1939, from the Ambassador in the United Kingdom, Foreign Relations, 1939, vol. ii, p. 274.
7. Rudolf E. Schoenfeld, First Secretary of Embassy in the United Kingdom.
8. Samuel W. Honaker, Consul General at Stuttgart.