The Secretary of State to the British Embassy
memorandum
In reply to British Embassy’s memorandum of the 11th instant with reference to the supposed plan of a number of German liners in American ports to prepare to sail at short notice and participate in belligerent operations in conjunction with German cruisers now in Pacific waters, the Department of State has to state that the United States Government is continuing its customary vigilance to maintain the neutrality of the United States.
With reference to the responsibility of the United States in this respect as a neutral in the present war, the Department of State has the honor to refer the British Embassy to the note of the Secretary of State to Mr. Colville Barclay, Chargé d’Affaires of Great Britain, dated the 19th of August last.1.