Office of the Historian

Preface

Dr. E. Ralph Perkins, former Chief of the Foreign Relations Division, directly supervised the preparation of this volume. He was assisted by the present Chief of the Division, S. Everett Gleason, by Fredrick Aandahl, and by former staff member, Almon E. Wright.

The compilers of the volume were David H. Stauffer and Mr. Wright. Mr. Stauffer was primarily responsible for documenting American policy toward Mexico, the republics of Central America, and the Caribbean area. Mr. Wright’s work encompassed the relations of the United States with the nations of South America and with Panama. Documentation on the regional policies of the United States toward the other American republics was the joint effort of Messrs. Wright and Stauffer.

The Publishing and Reproduction Services Division (Jerome H. Perlmutter, Chief) was responsible for the technical editing of the volume.

William M. Franklin

Director, Historical Office,
Bureau of Public Affairs
December 31, 1968

Principles for the Compilation and Editing of “Foreign Relations”

The principles which guide the compilation and editing of Foreign Relations are stated in Department of State Regulation 1350 of June 15, 1961, a revision of the order approved on March 26, 1925, by Mr. Frank B. Kellogg, then Secretary of State. The text of the current regulation is printed below:

1350 Documentary Record of American Diplomacy

1351 Scope of Documentation

The publication Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, constitutes the official record of the foreign policy of the United States. These volumes include, subject to necessary security considerations, all documents needed to give a comprehensive record of the major foreign policy decisions within the range of the Department of State’s responsibilities, together with appropriate materials [Page IV] concerning the facts which contributed to the formulation of policies. When further material is needed to supplement the documentation in the Department’s files for a proper understanding of the relevant policies of the United States, such papers should be obtained from other Government agencies.

1352 Editorial Preparation

The basic documentary diplomatic record to be printed in Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, shall be edited by the Historical Office, Bureau of Public Affairs of the Department of State. The editing of the record shall be guided by the principles of historical objectivity. There shall be no alteration of the text, no deletions without indicating where in the text the deletion is made, and no omission of facts which were of major importance in reaching a decision. Nothing shall be omitted for the purpose of concealing or glossing over what might be regarded by some as a defect of policy. However, certain omissions of documents are permissible for the following reasons:

a.
To avoid publication of matters which would tend to impede current diplomatic negotiations or other business.
b.
To condense the record and avoid repetition of needless details.
c.
To preserve the confidence reposed in the Department by individuals and by foreign governments.
d.
To avoid giving needless offense to other nationalities or individuals.
e.
To eliminate personal opinions presented in despatches and not acted upon by the Department. To this consideration there is one qualification—in connection with major decisions it is desirable, where possible, to show the alternatives presented to the Department before the decision was made.

1353 Clearance

To obtain appropriate clearances of material to be published in Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, the Historical Office shall:

a.
Refer to the appropriate policy offices of the Department and of other agencies of the Government such papers as appear to require policy clearance.
b.
Refer to the appropriate foreign governments requests for permission to print as part of the diplomatic correspondence of the United States those previously unpublished documents which were originated by the foreign governments.