AND WHEREAS a state of war has heretofore been declared and proclaimed to exist between the United States and the Imperial German Government and between the United States and the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government;

Now, THEREFORE, I, WOODROW WILSON, President of the United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the United States and the said sections of the Revised Statutes, do hereby further proclaim and direct that the conduct to be observed on the part of the United States towards all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of Germany or Austria-Hungary of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, shall be as follows:

All such natives, citizens, denizens or subjects of Germany or Austria-Hungary are enjoined to preserve the peace towards the United States and to refrain from crime against the public safety, and from violating the laws of the United States and of the States and Territories thereof, and to refrain from actual hostility or giving information, aid or comfort to the enemies of the United States, and to comply strictly with the regulations which are hereby or which have been or may be from time to time promulgated by the President; and so long as they shall conduct themselves in accordance with law, they shall be undisturbed in the peaceful pursuit of their lives and occupations and be accorded the consideration due to all peaceful and law-abiding persons, except so far as restrictions may be necessary for their own protection and for the safety of the United States; and towards such of said persons as conduct themselves in accordance with law, all citizens of the United States are enjoined to preserve the peace and to treat them with all such friendliness as may be compatible with loyalty and allegiance to the United States.

And all of such natives, citizens, denizens or subjects of Germany or Austria-Hungary who fail to conduct themselves as so enjoined, in addition to all other penalties prescribed by law, shall be liable to restraint, or to give security, or to remove and depart from the United States in the manner prescribed by sections four thousand and sixty-nine and four thousand and seventy of the Revised Statutes, and as prescribed in the regulations duly promulgated by the President;

And pursuant to the authority vested in me, I hereby declare and proclaim, as necessary in the premises and for the public safety, that Regulations 1 to 12 inclusive in the Proclamation issued by me under date of April 6th, 1917,1 and Regulations 13 to 20 inclusive in

1Ante, p. 165.

59665-33-13

the Proclamation issued by me under date of November 16th, 19171 shall be and they hereby are extended to and declared applicable to all natives, citizens, denizens or subjects of Germany, being females of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized; provided, that this extension of Regulation 4 of the Proclamation issued by me under date of April 6th, 1917 shall not become effective until such time as may be fixed and declared by the Attorney General of the United States. And pursuant to the authority vested in me, I hereby declare and proclaim, as necessary in the premises and for the public safety, that Regulations 1 to 3 inclusive in the Proclamation issued by me under date of December 11th, 1917 shall be and they are hereby extended to and declared applicable to all natives, citizens, denizens or subjects of Austria-Hungary, being females of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized.

This proclamation and the Regulations herein contained shall extend and apply to all land and water, continental or insular, in any way within the jurisdiction of the United States.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

DONE in the District of Columbia, this nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and eighteen, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and forty-second.

[SEAL]

By the President:

FRANK L. POLK

Acting Secretary of State.

File No. 311.62/458

WOODROW WILSON

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Stovall)

[Telegram]

WASHINGTON, April 22, 1918, 4 p. m.

1793. Department's 1436, February 1, 4 p. m. A reconsideration of policy has now led this Government to authorize the American National Red Cross to receive and transmit welfare inquiries through the International Red Cross for persons in the United States and in enemy or ally-of-enemy countries, for which purpose a license has been issued by the War Trade Board. You may henceforth refer such inquiries to the International Red Cross.

LANSING

1Ante, p. 180. 'Ante, p. 185.

File No. 763.72115/3362

The Swedish Minister (Ekengren) to the Secretary of State

Department of Austro-Hungarian

Interests No. 3446/21.

The Minister of Sweden, representing Austro-Hungarian interests in the United States, presents his compliments to His Excellency the Secretary of State, and has the honor to inform him of the receipt of a cablegram from the Foreign Office in Stockholm of which the following is an extract:

[Translation]

Austro-Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks that you kindly give special attention to the increase lately noticed in the internment of Austrian and Hungarian subjects in the United States, and kindly warn the Department of State that if American Government should without valid cause continue to intern Austrian and Hungarian subjects-as seems to have been the case with Kunwald and Pohl-such a proceeding could not but have a corresponding effect on the treatment of American citizens in Austria-Hungary.

WASHINGTON, July 3, 1918.

File No. 763.72115/3363

The Secretary of State to the Swiss Chargé (Hübscher)

The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of Switzerland, in charge of German interests in the United States and, with reference to the latter's note of June 25, 1918,1 in which inquiry was made whether alien enemies interned in the United States are permitted to send money to Germany, has the honor to state that it is not deemed advisable at the present time to extend this privilege to the class of interned German nationals referred to.

WASHINGTON, August 9, 1918.

File No. 763.72114/3904

The Secretary of State to the Swedish Minister (Ekengren) The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Minister of Sweden, in charge of Austro-Hungarian interests in the United States, and has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of his memorandum of August 8, 1918,1 enclosing a copy of a night letter addressed to the Swedish Legation by the Committee of AustroHungarian Internes at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., concerning the arrest, internment, and treatment of women.

In reply the Secretary of State begs to inform the Minister of Sweden that the various points in regard to this matter which

1 Not printed.

were emphasized in the night letter have received the careful consideration of the competent authorities and a report thereon has been received.

With reference to the first suggestion that in case of each order for the arrest of a female alien enemy this should be accompanied with a request for considerate treatment, the Minister of Sweden is advised that this has always been the practice of the authorities.

In so far as it is possible the second suggestion is always followed; namely, that when a woman alien enemy is arrested this is done in the presence of or preferably by women temperamentally adapted to perform such duties.

Before the arrest of female alien enemies adequate time is given to them to prepare their personal belongings for removal and themselves and their children for prolonged detention. There are, however, certain cases wherein the circumstances are such that the arrest must be done expeditiously, but even in these cases proper steps are taken to accomplish in so far as is feasible the results covered by this third suggestion.

Women after arrest are not left in the custody of men, if this can be avoided, and the established practice of the authorities has been to see that this objection is avoided except in extraordinary cases.

The practice of the authorities also concurs exactly with the fifth suggestion; namely, that female alien enemies should not be detained in jails or witness rooms. Care is taken to see that this practice is not transgressed.

With reference to the sixth suggestion to the effect that the women when arrested should not be separated from their minor children, the Secretary of State begs to inform the Minister of Sweden that he has been informed that no arrests have as yet been made where such children were concerned. However, if such cases do arise, it will undoubtedly be arranged so that the minor children need not be separated from their mothers or from their female relatives when the latter are arrested.

In so far as there is no objection thereto in a particular case, the husbands or near relatives of female alien enemies are always informed of the arrest of the latter at the earliest possible moment.

Relative to the final suggestion that husbands, wives and their children should be interned jointly in adequate housekeeping quarters, the Secretary of State begs to inform the Minister of Sweden that it has been the established policy of the authorities to intern the men and women separately, this being deemed desirable for a number of reasons and especially as each individual case is determined separately. As has been stated above, the matter of minor children has not as yet arisen, but when it does arise, it will be carefully considered and a practice adopted which will be satisfactory.

The statement contained in the last sentence of the night letter to the effect that the camp in question appears to be dangerous in case of fire, has been brought to the attention of the proper authorities and will be thoroughly investigated.

WASHINGTON, August 28, 1918.

Announcement of September 11, 1918, by the Secretary of State1

Some time ago announcement was made of the proposed formation of a national committee, composed of American citizens, which would cooperate with the Legations of Sweden and Switzerland and the consuls under their jurisdiction, in relieving the situation and condition of law-abiding residents in this country who are German or Austrian nationals, and in supervising the aid given the families of interned alien enemies.

This Committee has now been formed under the name of the “National Alien Enemy Relief Committee, in Cooperation with the Legations of Sweden and Switzerland and with the Approval of the Government of the United States" with an office at 818 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, D. C., and with a membership which comprises prominent American citizens in the larger cities of the country. On and after September 15 this Committee will be in a position to perform its functions in the fullest possible manner.

The purposes of this Committee are few and relatively simple but of a delicate nature and requiring the greatest care in their accomplishment. These purposes are, for the present, twofold-first, the recording and control of the assistance dispensed to the families of interned alien enemies by the Legations of Sweden and Switzerland; second, the rendering of aid and assistance, both financially and socially, to the vastly greater number of law-abiding, industrious, and discreet subjects of Germany and Austria-Hungary who are resident in the United States. Many of this latter group, although loyal to the United States, are, through unjust and unfounded suspicions and prejudice, of which they are the victims, prevented from or seriously handicapped in earning their livelihood and are, in consequence, reduced to grave financial straits.

Appreciating the need in which this class of residents finds itself, and realizing that some central control and guidance was desirable in the matter of their relief, the Department of State and the Department of Justice have not only approved the formation of this Committee but have encouraged it to undertake this important and valuable work.

'The Official Bulletin, Washington, Sept. 12, 1918 (vol. 2, No. 410), p. 3.