The letter written to General Di Giorgi was as follows:
"Carpi, Italy, April 26, 1919.
"His Excellency,
General Antonio Di Giorgi:
"I have been in the Y. M. C. A. service in Italy since September 28, 1918. I am fond of the people of Italy and at all times have been justly and fairly treated by them; and the officers and soldiers constituting her great army have been especially kind to me.
"I have just had read to me from the journal Il Resto del Carlino La Patria, addresses said to have been made by certain representatives of the Y. M. C. A. at Bologna. If they are correctly quoted, they do not express my views.
"As a citizen of the United States, with President Wilson the head of the nation, I do not in Italy or elsewhere criticize his expressions. If he speaks for the nation, I am controlled by and concur in those statements.
"Most respectfully and with sincere regret, I am,
"John Smith.
"N. B.—I concur in the sentiment expressed by Mr. Smith.
"Edw. R. Clarke."