760C.61/2254a
Memorandum by the Secretary of State to President Roosevelt
With reference to the instructions which you gave Mr. Stettinius on March 8 that passports should be issued to Professor Oscar Lange and the Reverend Stanislaw Orlemanski in order that they might proceed to the Soviet Union, a passport is now being issued to Professor Lange, and one will be issued to Reverend Orlemanski as soon as he completes his application.
In order that there may be no misunderstanding as to the conditions under which passports are being issued to these men particularly in view of possible repercussions which may arise under the “Logan Act”, it is proposed to inform them at the time the passports are issued that they must clearly understand that in proceeding to the Soviet Union they are acting in their own individual capacity and that this Government can take no responsibility for their actions.
Should their trip become the subject of public comment it is proposed to issue the following explanatory statement:
The Reverend Stanislaw Orlemanski and Professor Oscar Lange are proceeding to the Soviet Union on the invitation of the Soviet Government. They are making this trip as private American citizens acting in their own individual capacity. They have no official status and therefore are not in any sense representatives or spokesmen of the United States Government.