It will, I feel assured, be clear to your Excellency
that holding this view and considering itself in honor bound by it, it
is out of the question for this Government to consider such a course.
I hope that your Excellency will realize the spirit in which I am
drafting this reply. The friendship between the people of the United
States and the people of Germany is so warm and of such long standing,
the ties which bind them to one another in amity are so many and so
strong, that this Government feels under a special compulsion to speak
with perfect frankness, when any occasion arises which seems likely to
create any misunderstanding, however slight or temporary, between those
who represent the Governments of the two countries.
It will be a matter of gratification to me if I have removed from your
Excellency's mind any misapprehension you may have been under regarding
either the policy or the spirit and purposes of the Government of the
United States.
Its neutrality is founded upon the firm basis of conscience and
good-will.
Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.
W.J.
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