"The points of amelioration which I then suggested as a concession to Belgian national feeling and foreign opinion were as follows: "1. Only actual unemployed to be taken, involving a more deliberate and careful selection. "2. Married men or heads of families not to be taken. "3. Employees of the Comité National not to be taken. [Sidenote: and asks certain concessions] "4. The lists of the unemployed not to be required of the Belgian authorities, but to be determined by the German authorities themselves, as a concession to Belgian national feeling, and the Belgians, who had already been imprisoned for refusing to supply these lists, released. "5. Deported persons to be permitted to correspond with their families in Belgium. "6. Places of work or concentration camps of deported persons to be voluntarily opened by the German Government to inspection by neutral representatives. * * * * * "A few days later Count Zech, the Chancellor's adjutant, called on me and communicated to me informally and orally the following replies to the various suggestions which I had made for concessions and points of amelioration: [Sidenote: but with slight success.] "1. Only actual unemployed were to be taken. The selections would be made in a careful and deliberate manner. "2. Married men or heads of families could not in principle be exempted, but each case would be considered carefully on its merits. "3. Employees of the _Comité National_ are regarded as actually employed and therefore exempt. "4. It was essential that the Belgian authorities should co-operate with the German authorities in furnishing lists of unemployed, in order to avoid mistakes. Only one Belgian had been imprisoned for refusing to give such lists, and orders had now been given for his release. "5. Deported persons would be permitted to correspond with their families in Belgium. "6. Places of work and concentration camps would in principle be open to inspection by Spanish diplomatic representatives. "American inspection might also be informally arranged if desired. * * * * * "On December 2nd, the Minister at Brussels communicated to me the text of a telegram which he had sent to the Department on November 28th, stating that he had been encouraged by the report of the results of my interview with the Chancellor." * * * The telegram to which Mr. Grew refers was the following: MINISTER WHITLOCK'S TELEGRAM OF NOVEMBER 28, 1916. "BRUSSELS, VIA THE HAGUE, _November 28, 1916_. "SECRETARY OF STATE, "_Washington_. [Sidenote: Germans are deporting the skilled Belgian workmen.]