The Secretary of War directs me to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 9th relative to the visit of the 30th Division to the city of Raleigh.

The 30th Division has been designated for return to the United States but nothing definite is known of the date when it will sail. Requests have already been received for visits by the 30th Division to separate localities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, the three contributing States and it is needless to say that the granting of all of these requests would delay the demobilization of the division and the return of the men to civil life by a period of a month or more, to say nothing of the added expense of transportation and the question of railroad congestion.

The policy of the War Department is to permit organizations to parade in the city or town nearest the camp selected for their demobilization. The War Department could not go to any expense to transport men to Raleigh simply for parade purposes.