File No. 351.622a/56
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Sharp)
1654. Department advised by American Consul, Saloniki, that on July 4 French naval officers boarded American steamer Frederick Luckenbach , en route from New York to Saloniki, and removed second mate, Miller, naturalized citizen of the United States, on the ground that he was in the opinion of the officers an enemy subject. Please make urgent inquiry of the Foreign Office as to facts in this case, and unless it can be shown that Miller was incorporated in the armed forces of Germany at the time of removal and that this was known to the French officers making the arrest, make a formal request for immediate release of Miller. Familiarize yourself with the correspondence in the case of arrest and detention of Piepen-brink by French authorities, which seems to be similar to present case.