Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, May 28, 1916, Page 9

MAILS MUST HAVE ALL RIGHTS AT SEA Great Britain and Frince Con- cerning Interceptions. PRESENT PRACTICE ILLEGAL Washington, May 27.— The Unitea States, denouncing inter- ference with neutral mails, has notified Great Britain and France that it can no longer tolerate the wrongs which American citizens have suffered and continue to suf- fer through the “lawless practice” those governments have indulged in, and that only a radical change in policy, restoring the United States to its full rights as a neu- tral power will be satisfactory. This notification is given in the latest American communication to the two governments, the text of which was made public by the State departmenc tonight. The time in which the change must be effected is not specified, but the United States expects prompt action, What is Complained Of. “Onerous and vexatious,” abuses which have been perpetrated by the British and French governments in sgizing and censoring neutral mails are recited in the communication and answers are made to the legal argu- ments contained in the reply of the entente governments to the first American note on the subject. It is vigorously set forth that not only have American commercial interests been injured, but that the rights of property have been violated an the rules of in- ternational law and custom palpably disregarded. Notice is served that the United States soon will press claims against the British and French gov- ernments for the losses which already have been sustained, Text of Note, The text of the communication ad- d. :ssed to the British and French am- bassadors to whom it was delivered Wednesday, follows: Department of State, Washington, May 24, 1916.—Excellenc:: 1 have the honor to acknowledge receipts of your excellency's note of April 3, last, transmitting a memorandum dated February 15, 1916, and communicated in substance to the American ambas- sador in London on February 28, in which are stated the contentions of the British and French governments in regard to the right to detain and examine parcel and letter mails en route by sea between the United States and Europe, After a discussion of the use of the maile for transmission of parcels and of the limitations to be placed on “Inviolable mail,” the joint memo- randum of February 15 closes with the following assertions: 1. That from the standpoint of the right of visitation and eventual arrest and seizure, merchandise shipped in ost parcels needs not and sEaH not e treated otherwise than merchandise shipped in any other manner. 2. That the inviolability of postal correspondence stipulated by the elevs enth convention of The Hague of 1907 does not in any way affect the right of the allied governments to visit, and if occasion arises, arrest and seize merchandise hidden in the wrappers, envelopes or letters con- tained in the mail bags. 3. That true to their engagements and respectful of genuine ‘“corre- spondence” 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. Interference Unwarranted. In reply, the government of the United States desires to state that it | does not coisider that the Postal Union convention of 1906 necessarily applics to the interference by the British and French governments with of mails the oversea transportation of which the government of the | United States is complaining. Fur-| thermore the allied powers appear to have overlooked 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 recognized by in- | ternational law lut the governmen of the United States does not admit | that such parcels are subject to the | e of the rights of police super- | Yexere vision, visitation and eventual seiz- ure which belongs to belligerents as t6 all cargoes on the high seas” as| A ted in the joint note under ac | knowledgment | What May Be Searched | sted with satisfact that + ritish and French government t claim, a nion of | t government [ o not| la at their [ are sufficle v base a r \ classes of mail and from the cer | o cont thei tentior : to be t » viola all ma { v Prathee " | which it is own ports or they induce shipping lines, through some form of duress to send their n s via British ports or they Ain vessels merely call ing at British ports, thus acquiring by force or u ble means an illegal jurisdiction ting upon this jurisdiction the authorities rer justif mail, genuine correspondence 1s post parcels and take en don, where every piece, even though destination, is of neutral origin and opened and termine the in accordance with the b i ritically ¢ cerity of tl interpretation given that undefined phrase by the dritish and French censors. Finally the expurgated remainder is for- warded, frequently delay, to its tained en after irreparable lestination. Ships are de- route to or from the United States or to from neutral countries, and mails are held and de layed for several days and, in some for weeks and even months, | or other cases, even though not routed to ports of | north Europe via British port Offense 1s Flagrant, This has been the proceedure which | has been practiced since the announce ment of February 15, 1916, To some extent, the same practice was fol- lowed before'that date calling forth the protest of the government of Jan uary 4, 1916 i memorandum under acknowledgment makes no reference and is entirely unresponsive, The government of the United States must again insist with emphasis that the British and French governments do not obtain rightful Jurisdiction of ships by forcing or in- ducing them to visit their ports for the purpose of seizing their mails, or thereby obtain greater belligerent rights as to such ships than they could exercise on the high seas; for there is, in the opinion of the govern- ment of the United States no legal distinction between the seizure mails at s which is announced as abandoned, and their seizure from vessels voluntarily or involuntarily in port. The British and French practice amounts to an unwarranted limita tion of 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 February 15, was merely notice that one illegal pratice had been an doned to make place for the develop ment of another more onerous vexatious in character Violates Spiri¢ and Letter, The present practice is a volation not only of the spirit of the an nouncement of February 15 but of the rule of The Hague convention upon concededly Aside this, it is a th practice of and based violation nations from prior of Great Britain and her allies have in | and | the past i assisted to establish maintain, notwithstanding the state- ment in the memorandum that “as late as 1907 the letters and dis- patches themselves could be seized | and confiscated.” During the war be- tween the United States and Mexico, the United States forces allowed British steamers to enter and depart from the port of Vera Cruz without | molesting the mails intended for in land points. During the American civil war Lord Russell endeavored to induce the United States to concede that “Her Majesty's mail on board a private vessel should be from visitation or detention.” exemption of mails was October, 1862, in the case of British mails on board the Adela, On Octo- ber 31, Secretary Seward announced that “public mails of any friendly or neutral power duly ‘certified” or authenticated as such, shall not be searched or opened, but be put as speedily as may be convenient on the way to their destination.” In accordance with this announcement the government of the United States in the case of the British steam- ship Peterhoff, which had been seized with her mails against the pro- test of lier majesty's government, had her mails forwarded to destina tion unopened. Followed in Other Wars, The same rule was followed by France, as 1 am advised, in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870; by the United States in the Spanish-Amer ican war of 1898; by Great Britain in This urged in 2066-68 Farn But to that protest the | which | exempted | SAXO Strength ~ Economy Service THE OMAHA SUNDAY he South African war; the of the German mail steamers Bu desrath and General; by Japan and antially by n the Russo Japanese war of And even the 1t war, as the memorandun of Great Britain and France states, their enemy, Germany, has desi fr the practice of mterfering al mails board be t steamers. This is illustrated by case of the French steamer Floride, captured by the auxiliary Prinz Eitel Friedrich, cited by the British and French govern ments i support of their argument regarding parcel mails. In this case the letter mails of the Floride amounting to 144 sacks, were for warded their destination by the commander at the first opportunity on arriving in the United States. It would seem, therefore, to be clusively established that interfer ence with mails of which this gov ernment justly complains are wron in principle and practice | rings Disaster to Americans, The arbitrary methods employed by case Russia, 1904 prese even on cruiser to the British and French governments 'have resulted most disastrously tc citizens of the United States. Im- portant papers which never can be | duplicated, or can be duplicated only with great difficulty, such as United States patents for in- ventions, rare documents, legal papers relating to the settlement of estates, powers of attorney, fire insurance claims, income tax returns, and simi- lar matters have been lost, Delays in receiving shipping documents have caused great loss and inconvenience by preventing prompt delivery of oods. In the case of the MacNiff f(oni(ulluml company of New York, large shipments of plants and bulbs from Holland were, T am informed, frozen on the wharves because pos- session could not be obtained in the |absence of documents relating to them which had been removed from the Nieu Amsterdam, Oosterdyk, and Rotterdam Business opportunities are lost by failure to transmit promptly bids, specifications and con- tracts. The Standard Underground Cable company of Pittshurgh, for ex ample, sent by a mail a tender and specifications for certain proposed electrical works to be constructed in Christiania; after several weeks of waiting, the papers having failed to arrive, the American company was told that the bids could not be longes held open and the contract was awarded to a British competitor Checks, drafts and money orders, se curities and similar property are lost | or detained for weeks and months Bother for Government. Businesz correspondence relating to legitimate and bonafide trade between neutral countries, correspondence of a g!erwnal nature, and also certain official correspondence, such as Imoney order lists and other mattes | forwarded by government depart ments are detained, lost or possibly | destroyed. For instance, the post- master-general informs me that cer tain international money order lists from the United States to Germany, Greece and other countries, and from Germany to the United States, sent | through™ the mails, have not reached their destination, though despatched several months ago, It was neces- sary to have some of these lists dupli cated and again dispatched by the steamship Frederick 4VIII, which sailed from New York on April 19, and from which all the mails intended 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 postmaster general also | sends me a copy of a letter from the | British postal administration, admit- ting that the mails were removed from the steamer Medan in The Downs on | July 30, last, and not forwarded until some time “between Februarv 2 and March 2, and that 182 bags of these mails “were lost during transmission | to Holland on February 26, by the Dutch steamship Mecklenburg.” The Medan arrived safely at Rotterdam a day or two after it left The Downs. Will Claim Reparation. 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 unpre- cedented and vexatious nature of the | interference with mails persisted in | refineme d Timke gs throughout Timker for the best i rca a [ I elica VIng gea | sting f Lse ' Noyes-Killy Motor Company am St,, Omaha I WILL SELL YOU A NEW AUTOMOBILE ON EASY PAYMENTS Phone Doug. 1662 The Easy Payment and Night Phone, | Sundey “BURNETT"” . Automaohile Man {208 larney | BEE: MAY 28, 1916. 9—A — y the British and French authorities. the class mail matter, whic n- e Britain can no |the present practice of the British and Not only are American com- udes stocks, bonds, coupons and|! wrongs which citi- | French authoritities in the treatment mercial interests injured, but similar securities, is to be regarded as tates suffer and |of mails from or to the United States rights of property are violated »f the same nature as merchandise or nue to suffer through these|to cease, and belligerent rights as ex- and the rules of international law other articles of property and subject|methods. To submit to a lawless|ercised to conform to the principle and custom are palpably disre- to the same exercise of belligerent [practice of this character would open | governing the passage of mail matter garded. I can only add that this rights the door to repeated violations of in-|and to the recognized practice of na- continuing offense has led to such Money orders, checks, drafts, notes, | ternational law by the belligerent|tions. Only a radical chagge in the losses to American citizens and to negotiable instruments | powers 1 the ground of military |present British and French pnlit)n a possible responsibility of the pass as the cquivalent of | necessity of which the violator would | restoring to the United States its full United States government to re- |, v are, it 1s considered also to be | be the sole judge rights as a neutral power will satisfy pair them, that this government will be compelled in the near fu- ture to press claims for full recla- mation upon the attention of his majesty's government and that of the French republic. The principle being plain and defi ite, and the present practice of the governments of Great Britain and France being clearly in contravention of the principle. T will state more in letail IYH' position of the government i.the United States in regard to the treatment of certain classes of sealed mails under a strict application of the yrinciple upon which our government seem to be in general accord The government of the United States is inclined to the opinion that g ' 8 $114-5 Model 86—, 0.b. Toledo = NLNRT B A WA L% R W A T . B A A A 2 LG W 8wl S o Remember there is a patented improvement in the SUPE It is one of the greatest of all metor discoveries, engineers sought for it It cannot be copled, It cannot be imitated. It can be had only in the Hudson Super-Six, classed as merchandise Manifestly a neutral nation can- this government Correspondence, including shipping not permit its rights on the high I have, etc S PG documents, money order lists, and| geas to be determined by bell- ROBERT LANSING. papers of that character, even though | gerents, or the exercise of those PP SR TR relating to “enemy supplies or ex-| rights to be permitted or denied | B0Y STRUCK BY AUTO ied on the same ship ports,” unless ca to, are, in the as the property referred opinion of this government to be re-| arbitrarily by the government of a warring nation. The rights of neutrals are as sacred : 8 the rights IS SLIGHTLY INJURED | garded as “genuine correspondence” | of belligerents and must be as | Frank Larosa, age 7 years, who and entitled to unmolested pnluagc. strictly observed | lives with his parents at 1110 North Cannot Tolerate Practice. The government of the United|Seventeenth street, was run down by by Walter he was xteenth an automobile driven Petersen, 4102 Izard street, about to cross the street at The States in methods empl government of the United | States confident in the regard for in- view of the improper | ternational law and the rights of neu oyed by the British and|trals which the British and French | French authorities in interrupting |governments have so often proclaimed | and Douglas streets late yesterday mails passing between the United land the disregard of which they have | afternoon, sustaining severe bruises States and other neutral ocuntries and | urged so vigorously against their|and lacerations about the face and between the United States and the|enemies in the present war, expects | head o R e E———- Canvass the world and you will not find as big a car g;lt‘i;e Overland Six at anywhere near so low a price, You who prefer seven passenger capacity, must pay a heavy excess in price to get 80 much real seven pas- senger comfort in any other car. 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