Among the many tremendous handicaps which we encounter in
trying to do business with the few neutral countries in
Europe which are accessible we have the trouble of
shipping our goods, and we think it. Would be quite in
order that you address a letter to the State Department
in Washington, also to your representative and senator,
and apply for relief that should be given to exporters
in that direction.
The warfaring nations in Europe are getting from week to
week more pretentious in their control of cargoes of
neutral vessels, even to such an extent that the
steamship managers here are afraid to take almost
anything and when they do take any cargo it is only by
observing a lot of red tape regulations in compliance
with the demand of those countries now at war in
Europe.
We have found our State Department so timid and
hesitating that we could get no effective help from
them. We need not mention that this attitude works harm
to you all that are anxious to keep up exports to Europe
as much as possible, and the loss of trade which is
thereby caused to this country can be counted in
millions.
We suggest in your own interests that you write a letter
of a tenor similar to the following sketch:
We learn from our export friends in New York that
they are meeting with all sorts of impediments in
their efforts to ship our line of goods to
European neutral countries, and we are told that
the restrictions placed upon exports are getting
severer from week to week. The steamship lines in
New York―caused by the overbearing attitude
against neutral ships―have been asking conditions,
some of which can really not be complied with, and
they are refusing to accept goods for shipment
unless we submit to a lot of onerous and
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annoying
restrictions. The list of contraband and
“conditional contraband,” especially the latter,
is increasing fabulously and we do not believe
that our interests are properly cared for by our
Government.
We are in need of business to keep our factories
running and we look to your Department to take a
firm attitude against such nations of Europe that
are making it troublesome or impossible to ship
our line of goods to neutral European markets as
we did before the war. To the best of our
knowledge and belief we are making no goods that
are straight contraband goods but we believe we
are entitled to energetic assistance from your
Department that we be undisturbed in our peaceful
efforts to supply a foreign market and thus
produce work for our factory employees.
You need not write this letter exactly in the same way
but we simply indicate by this sketch the lines along
which we would ask you to kindly write your lettter.
The circular is dated New York, December 26, 1914, and it need
scarcely be added that the firm from which it emanates bears
German names.
