The Washington herald., 1921-01-14
DAVIS GIVES lie
TO PREDICTION
SOVIET CHARGES
Questions Were Asked to
Influence Votes, He
Declares.

Norman H.. Davis, acting Secre-
tary of State, in letter to Alton
B. Parker. president of the National
Civic Federation, New York city,
dated January and made public
here yesterday, answered categori-
cally five questions propounded last
October to the Presidential candi-
dates and widely published as ad-
vertisements by the League of Free
Nations Association, concerning the
policy of the State Department to-
ward Russia.
Under date of November 26. Par
ker wrote the state Department,
calling attention to the questions
and asked what ground there is, 4
any, for the statements, and re-
questing specific answers to all
points raised.
The questions were obviously de-
signed in the hope of influencing
the outcome of, the elections, Davis
said in reply. Now that the votes
have been cast and the results are
known, have no objection to reply
fag gNspecifiesIiy 90. Ihe charges made
in order TO rectffys the misappre-
tensions which the document sug-
gests," he writes.
Denies Policy Lacking;
The first question was:
Our recent policy, although never
clearly stated. has been to refuse
to permit relief to be sent to that
vast portion of Russia which is un-
der the control of the Soviet gov
eminent. Thousands of Russians,
Bolshevik. are suffering from lack
of medical supplies, soap and the
common necessities of life. No
American has been officially per-
mitted to feed a sick Russian child.
nor to send medicine to a Russian
hospital. II elected, will you sup
port this pOlicy?''
The first sentence" replies Davis,
'is unQualifiedly false; the second
is true; the third is somewhat am
biguOus, but false in its obvious
intention. The only restriction
maintained by this government on
export trade with Soviet Russia is
the restriction on the export of
munitions or commodities suscepti-
Bile of Immediate military use.
There is no restriction on the ex-
port of medical supplies, soap and
the common necessities of life
No Restriction on Travel
ANY American citizen who wishes
to enter Russia on his own respon-
sibility and without a passport can
do so without any hindrance from
this government. The official OBJ
struction to feeding sick Russian
children by Americans has come not
from this government but from the
Soviets."
Answering the second question
which charges the department with
Confiscating passports to Russia,
falling to permit communication
with Russia and declaring that
Americans of Russian descent could
not go to the aid of relatives in
nor bring them to this
country, Davis declared that pass
ports could not properly be ex-
changed with the Soviet authori-
ties, with which this country has
no diplomatic relations.
Postal communications with So
Wet Russia" he said, could not be
formally established. without treaty
negotiations. That this government
does not take such steps in order
to facilitate postal communications
cannot be justly construed as a re-
fusal to permit communications.
Communication UnhIndered,
AN, American of Russian descent
wishing to communicate with his
relatives in Russia, while it is inn
possible for this government at
present actually to help him, is not
hindered nor interfered with by it
The third statement in the ques-
tionnaire declared that Secretary
Colby's note of August 10 proposed
officially to restore Russian terri
torial integrity" and with it Rus
sian rule over Lithuania, Latvia
and Esthonia., This was character
lied by Davis as false.
Another declaration, that hun
dreds of thousands of Americans Of
Baltic nationality are vitality inter-
ested in this proposal" appears to
have been intended either as a bribe
"a as a threat to the Presidential
candidate, Davis charged.