New Britain Herald Newspaper, May 27, 1916, Page 5

NEW. BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, SATURDAY, MAY 27, :!9"1'6. ““Stop Thief!” Shouts Wilson to England and France Vigorous Note Informs Them They Must Desist from Seizing and Losing United States Mail in Transit Across Ocean. Washington, May 27-—Secretary Lansing has made public the text of the new American against the Anglo-French with note of protest policy of neutral mails interference . “and from this country. The note, which is a vigorous state- ment of the attitude of the United States government, was delivered to the British and French ambassadors in Washington several days ago, and has been forwarded by cable to their respective governments. It challenges the legality of the methods that have been followed by the British and French governments, describes the “Improper methods emploved by the British and French authorities in in- terrupting mails” as a “lawless prac- tice,” which can no longer be tolerat- ed, and concludes with the declara- tion that *“only a radical change in the present British and French policy, restoring to the United States its full . rights as a neutral power, will sat- iy this government.” The note follows: Txcellency: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your Excellency's note of April 3 last, transmitting a memor- andum dated Feb. 15, 1916, and communicated in substance to the American Ambassador in London on Feb. 28, in which are stated the con- tentions of the British and Trench ¥overnments in regard to the right to detain and examjne parcel and letter mails en route by sea between the United States and Europe. fter a discussion of the use of the mails for the transmission of parcels and of the limitations to be placed on “Inviolable mail,” the joint memor- nndum of Feb. 15 closes with the foi- Jowing assertions: “1. That from the standpoint their right of visitation and eventual arrest and seizure, merchandise ship- ped in post parcels need not and shall not he treated otherwise than merchandise shipped in any manner. ‘“2. That the inviolability of pos- tal correspondence stipulated by the eleventh convention of The Hague » of 1907 does not in any way affect the right of the Allied Governments to visit and, if occasion arise. arrest and seize merchandise hidden in the wrappers, envelopes, or letters con- tained in the mall bags. “3. That true to their engage- ments and respectful of genuine ‘cor- respondence’ the Allied Governments will continue, for the present, to re- frain on the high seas from seizing > and confiscating such correspondence, letters, or dispatches, and will insure their speediest possible transmission as soon as the sincerity of their char- acter shall have been ascertained.” In reply the Government of the United States desires to state that it does not consider that the Postal Tnion Convention of 1906, necessarily applies to the interferences by the British and French Governments with the oversea transportation of mails | FRISBIE’S ANIMAL FERTILIZERS (Bone, Blood and Tankage) “Made in Connecticut” —FOR— Connecticut Farms Frisbie's Fertilizers for all crops are made of Animal Tankage, Bone, Blood and High Grade Chemicals; and in fine mechanical condition. Free booklet. THE L. T. FRISBIE COMPAN New Haven, Conn. I mails coming out of and going of | other | | where every piece, even though of which the Government of the United States complains. Further- more, the Allied Powers appear to have overooked the admission of the Government of the United States that post parcels may be treated as mer- chandise subject to the exercise of belligerent rights as recogmized by in- ternational law. But the Government of the United States does not admit | that such parcels are subject to the | “exercise of the rights of police super- | vision, visitation, and eventual seizure which belorigs to belligerents as to all cargoes on the high seas,” as as- serted in the joint note under ac- knowledgment. Tt is noted with satisfaction that the British and French Governments do not claim, and, in the opinion of this Government, properly do not claim, that their so-called “blockade’ measures are sufficient grounds upon which to hase a right to interfere with all classes of mail matter in transit to or from the Central Poyers. On the contrary, their contention appears to be that, as ‘“genuine correspon- dence” is under conventional stipu- lation “inviolable,” mail matter of | other classes is subject to detention {and examination. While the Govern- | ment of the United States agrees that “genuine correspondence” mail is | inviolable, it does not admit that bel- | lizerents may search other private sea-borne mails for any other pur- pose than to discover whether they contain articles of enemy ownership { carried on belligerent vessels or ar- | ticles of contraband transmitted un- der sealed covers as letter mail, | though they may intercept at sea all into ports of the enemy's coasts which are effectively blockaded. The Govern- ments of the United States, Great Britain, and France, however, ap- pear to be in substantial agreement as'to principle. The method of ap- plying the principle is the chief cause of difference. is Promises, More Promises. Though giving assurances that they consider ‘‘genuine correspondence’” to be “inviolable,” and that they will, ‘“true to their engagements,” refrain “on the high seas” from seizing and confiscating such correspondence, the Allied Governments proceed to de- prive neutral Governments of the benefits of these assurances by seiz- ing and confiscating. mail from ves- sels in port instead of at sea. They compel neutral ships without just cause to enter their own ports, or they induce shipping lines, through some form of duress, to send their mail ships via British ports, or they detain all vessels merely calling at British ports, thus acquiring by force of unjustifiable means an illegal ju- risdiction. Acting upon this enforced jurisdiction, the authorities remove all malil, genuine correspondence as well as post parcels, take them to London, of is to neutral origin and destination, opened and critically examined determine the ‘“sincerity of their character,” in accordance with the interpretation given that undefined phrase by the British and French censors. Finally the expurgated re- mainder is forwarded, frequently af- ter irreparable delay, to its destina- tion. Ships are detained en route to or from . the United States or to and from other neutral countries, and mails are held and delayed for several days, and, in some cases, for weeks and even months, even though not routed to ports of North Europe via British ports. This has been the pro- cedure which has been practiced since the announcement of Feb. 15, 1916. To some extent the same prac- tice was followed before that date, calling forth the protest of this Gov- Jack Will Fix Them He Knows How Jack’s work in the tire field is well known here- abouts. It needs no fantastic claims to support it. It speaks for itself. Tire Trouble on the Road? — CHARTER 4641 — We'll fit you out with say. prices right. new tires whenever you You’ll find our service unsurpassed and our All work, whether new or goods delivered right here in New . repaired Britain and equipped to your car at no extra charge. Entire satisfaction in tires certain when you Entrust Your Tire Troubles to Us. THE AUTO TIRE CO. JACK THE TIRE EXPERT 129-137 Allyn st. Hartford. Charter 4641, ROYAL BAKING POWDER Absolutely Pure No Alum—No Phosphate But to that under ac- reference | ernment on Jan. 4, 1916. protest the memorandum knowledgment makes no and is entirely unresponsive. The Government of the United | States must again insist with em- | phasis that the British and Frencn | Governments do not obtain rightful jurisdiction of ships by forcing or, inducing them to visit their ports for | the purpose of seizing their mails, or | thereby obtain greater belligerent rights as to such ship than they could exercise on the high seas, for there is, in the opinion of the Government of the United States, no legal distinc- tion between the seizure of malls at sea, which is announced as abandon- ed, and their seizure from vessels vol- untarily or involuntarily in port. Substitute More Vexatious Practice. The British and French practice amounts to an unwarranted limita- tion on the use by neutrals of the world’s highway for the transmission of correspondence. The practice ac- tually followed by the Allied Powers must be said to justify the conclusion, therefore, that the announcement of | Feb. 15 was merely notice that one | illegal practice had been abandoned | to make place for the development of another more onerous and vecatious in character. The present practice Is a violation not only of the spirit of the an- nouhcement of Feb. 15 but of the rule of The Hague Convention upon which it is concededly based. Aside from this it is a violation of the prior practice of nations which Great Brit- ain and her allies have in the past insisted to establish and maintain, notwithstanding the statement in the memorandum “that as late as 1907 the letters and dispatches themselves could be seized and confiscated.” During the war between the United States and Mexico the United States forces allowed British steamers to enter and depart from the port of Vera Cruz without molesting mails in- tended for inland points. During the American civil war Lord Russell en- deavored to induce the United States to concede that “her Majesty’s malls on hboard a private vessel should be exempted from visitation or deten- tion.” This exemption of malls was urged on October, 1862, in the case of British mails on board the Adela. On Oct. 31 Secretary Seward an- nounced that ‘“public mails of any friendly or neutral power duly certi- fied or authenticated as such shall | not be searched or opened, but be put as speedily as may be convenient on the way to their designated des- tination.”” In accordance with this announcement the Government of the United States in the case of the British steamship Peterhoff, which had been seized with her mails against the protest of her Majesty’s Government, had her mails forwarded to destination unopened. The same rule was followed by France, as I am'advised, in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870; by the United States in the Spanish-Ameri- can war of 1898; by Great Britain in the South African war, in the case of the German mail steamers Bundes- rath and General; by Japan, and sub- stanitally by Russia, in the Russo- Japanese war of 1904. And even in the present war, as the memorandum of Great Britain and France states, their enemy, Germany, has desisted from the practice of interfering with neutral mails, even on board belliger- ent steamers. This is illustrated by the case of the French steamer Flor- ide, captured by the auxiliary cruiser Prinz Ethel Friedrich, cited by the British and French Governments in support of their argument regarding parcel mails. In this case the letter mails of the Floride, amounting to 144 sacks, were forwarded to their destination by the commander at the first opportunity upon arriving in the United States. It would seem, there- fore. to he conclusively established that the intererences with mails of which this Government justly com- plains are wrong in principle and in practice. Important Papers Lost. The arbitrary methods employed by the British and French Governments have resulted most disastrously to cit- izens of the United States. Import- ant papers which can never be dupli- cated, or can be duplicated only with great difficulty, such as United States patents for inventions, rare docu- ments, legal papers relating to the set- tlement of estates, power of attor- ney, fire insurance claims, income tax HEADACHE Sick or nervous headaches always result from a torpid liver or a dis- ordered stomach—treat the liver, or sweeten the stomach, and the head is cured. Tho surest way is to take MANDRAKE They invariably relieve all ail- ments resulting from liver or stom- ach trouble—quickly remove giddi ness, palpitation, biliousness, indi- gestion, constipation, etc. Parely vegetable. Plain or Sugar Coated. 80 YEARS® CONTINUOUS SALE PROVES THEIR MERIT. Dr. J. H. Schenck & Son, Philadelphia. returns, and similar matters have been lost. Delays in receiving documents have caused great loss and inconvenience by preventing prompt delivery of goods. In the case of the Macniff Hortical- tural company of New York large shipments of plants and bulbs from Holland were, I am informed, frozen on the wharves because possession could not be obtained in the absence of documents relating to them which had been removed from the Nieuw Amsterdam, Costerdyk, and Rotter- dam. Business opportunities are lost by failure to transmit promptly bids, spe- cifications, and contracts. The Standard Underground Cable company of Pittsburgh, for example, sent by mail a tender and specifica- tions for certain proposed electrical works to be constructed in Christiania; after several weeks of waiting the pa- pers failed to arrive. The American company was told that the bids could not be longer held open and the con- tract was awarded to a British compet- itor. Checks, drafts, money orders, se- curities, and similar property are lost or detained for weeks and months. Business correspondence relating to legitimate and bona fide trade between neutral countries, correspondence such as money order lists and other matter forwarded by Government depart- ments, are detained, lost, or possibly destroyed. For instance, the Postmas- ter General informs me that certain international money order lists from the United States to Germany, Greece and other countries and from Ger- many to the United States, sent through the mails, have not reachcd their destination, though dispatched several months ago. It was neces- sary to have some of these lists du- plicated and. again despatched by the steamship Frederick VIIL, which sailed from New York on April 19, and from which all the mails intend- ed for Germany have been taken and held in British jurisdiction. As a further example of the delay and loss consequent upon the British practice, the Postermaster General also sends me a copy of a letter from the British Postal Administration ad- mitting that the mails were removed from the steamer Medan in the Downs on Jan. 30 last and not forwarded un- til some time ‘“‘between the 2d of Feb- ruary and the 2d of March,” and that 182 bags of these mails “were lost during transmission to Holland on the steamship Mecklenburg.” The Medan arrived safely at Rotterdam a day or two after she left the Downs. Numerous complaints similar to the foregoing have been received by this Government, the details of which are available, but I believe I have cited sufficient facts to show the unprece- dented and vexatious nature of the in- terference with mails persisted in by British and French authorities. All Laws Smashed. Not only are American commercial interests injured but Tights of pro- perty are violated, .and the rules of international law and custom are pal- pably disregarded. I can only add that this continuing offense has led to such losses to American citizens and to a possible responsibility of the United States to repair them that this Government will be compelled in the near future to press claims for full reclamation upon the attention of his Majesty’'s Government and that of the French Republic. The principle being plain and definite, and the present practice of the Governments of Great Britain and France being clearly in contravention of the principle, I will state more in detail the position of the Government of the United States in regard to the treatment of certain classes of sealed mails under a strict application of the principle upon which our Govern- ments seem to he in general accord. The Government of the United States is inclined to the opinion that the class of mail matter which in- cludes stocks, bonds, coupons, and similar securities is to be regarded as of the same nature as merchan- dise or other articles of property and subject to the same exercise of belli- gerent rights. Money ord checks, drafts, notes ,and other negotiable in- struments which may pass as the equivalent of money are, it is consid- ered, also to be classed as merchan- dise. Correspondence, including shipping documents, money or der lists and papers of that char- acter, even though relating to *“enemy supplies or exports,”” unless carried on the same ship as the property re- ferred to, are, in the opinion of this Government ,to be regarded as ‘“gen- uine correspondence,” and entitled to unmolested passage. The Government of the United { States, in view of the improper me- | thods employed by the British and French authorities in interrupting malils passing between the United States and other neutral countries and between the United States and enemies of Great Britain, can no longer tolerate the wrongs which cit- |izens of the United- States have suf- fered and continue to suffer through these methods. To submit to a law- less practice of this character would open the door to repeated violations of international law by the belliger- ent powers on the ground of military necessity of which the violator would be the sole judge. Manifestly a neu- tral nation cannot permit its rights on the high seas to be determined by belligerents or the exercise of those rights to be permitted eor denied ar- { ciple governing the passage of 26th day of February bp the Dutch | bitrarily by the Government of g warring nation. The Tights of neu- trals are as sacred as the rights of belligerents and must be as strictly observed. Government of the United confident in the regard for in- ternational law and the rights of neu- trals whigh the British and French Governments have so often proclaim- ed and the disregard of which they have urged so vigorously against their enemies.in the present war, expects the present practice of the British and French authorities i the treat- ment of n from or to the United States to cease, and belligerent rights, as exercised, to conform to the prin- mail recognized prac tice of nations. Only a radical change in the present British and French policy, restoring to the United States its full rights as a neutral power, will satisfy this government. 1 have, etc ROBERT LANSING, matter and to the Very time you read is sentence think of METRO PICTURES The Best theatres show them The Best peoplc-scc thcm. s your theatre 0 gjzs o= 7%21(1{{'% . For Your insurance and Surety Bonds Avold trouble by having your insur- ance written by a man who knows how. Go to DWIGHT A. PARSONS, Booth’s Block. PERFECTLY PASTEUR- IZED MILK SEIBERT AND SON, BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME: Attractive fixtures add much to the appearance of any home. Of course you know that the fixtures that are most beautiful are designed for electric lighting only. 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