The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Secretary of State
American Embassy,
London,
September 16, 1914.
[Received September 28.]
No. 450]
Sir: Referring to your cablegram of September
3 [2], by which I was instructed to present to
the British Foreign Office an appeal on behalf of the Western Union
Telegraph Company in reference to the British censorship regulations as
to addresses upon cablegrams, I have the honor to enclose here with a
copy of a memorandum from
[Page 510]
His
Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in reply to my
memorandum of September 3 bringing his attention to the substance of the
above-mentioned cablegram from the Department.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure]
The British Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs (Grey) to the
American Ambassador (Page)
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments
to the United States Ambassador, and, with reference to the
Embassy’s memorandum of the 3rd instant on the subject of the
British censorship regulations, has the honour to inform his
excellency that he has caused enquiries to be made in respect of the
points raised by the Western Union Telegraph Company.
The question of code addresses in plain language telegrams is more
complicated than at first sight would appear. Although it is true
that so long as any individual or firm is only allowed to register
one code address, the possibility of abuse is almost eliminated, yet
when, as in the United States, there is no limit to the number of
code words that may be registered for the same address, this
latitude could easily be adapted to the surreptitious conveyance of
information.
The matter is, however, engaging the attention of the competent
British authorities with a view to the discovery of some safe means
of giving the mercantile community the relief desired.
Foreign Office,
London
,
September 15, 1914.
