Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 5, 1892
Mr. Hirsch to Mr. Blaine.
Constantinople, April 30, 1892. (Received May 23.)
Sir: The Stamford Manufacturing Company, after many unsuccessful efforts to obtain permission for the enlargement of their warehouses at Alexandretta, telegraphed to the legation on March 6, asking for its intervention, which was so far successful as to justify our telegram to the company on March 24, notifying them that orders for the necessary permits had been issued, upon which they proceeded to the erection of the much-needed building.
I am now in receipt of a letter from Mr. Walker, the superintendent, dated April 14, informing me that most unusual and unjustifiable requirements are sought to be exacted from him by the local officials at Alexandretta as a condition for the delivery of the official building permits.
I have to-day addressed a note to the Sublime Porte protesting against this and other similar violations of treaty rights, and have the honor to inclose a copy herewith, as well as copies of the various papers on the subject on file here.
I have, etc.,
The Stamford Manufacturing Company to Mr. Hirsch.
I have been trying last six months to obtain permit of construction for extending buildings here upon our land, of which title deeds are regular. Local authorities refuse to grant it, pretexting obstruction light-house and land be cultivable, also say having received such orders from minister of marine. Both pretexts are false. I submitted to all required formalities, regulations, and law of the country. I applied to vali, to our consulate Aleppo, and lately to consul Beirut, who advised submit matter to legation. The vali wrote to minister of interior 27th February: I solicit urgently your assistance, begging to obtain order for said permit to be given by wire, all material being ready in the open, and buildings most needed.
Mr. Walker to Mr. Hirsch.
Sir: I have the honor to confirm my telegram of the 6th of the present month, worded as follows:
“I have been trying last six months to obtain permit of construction for extending buildings here upon our land, of which title deeds are regular. Local authorities refuse to grant it, pretexting obstruction light-house and land being cultivable; also say having received such orders from minister of marine. Both pretexts are false. I submitted to all required formalities, regulations, and law of the country. I applied to vali, to our consulate Aleppo, and lately to consul Beirut, who advised submit matter to legation. The vali wrote to minister of interior 27th February: I solicit urgently your assistance, begging to obtain order for said permit to be given by wire, all material being ready in the open, and buildings most needed.”
I have followed this matter up and suffered all the consequences of its delays for the purpose of not creating trouble to jour legation, but seeing at present there are no possible means for obtaining what is just, viz, the permission to build on our own [Page 566] land, and seeing also our position very critical for the want of the projected buildings, I am forced to appeal for your protection in the interests of our company.
For more explanation on the subject I beg to inclose herein:
- No. 1. My original petition to the authorities, with their observations upon it.
- No. 2. A small sketch showing the position of the projected buildings approved by the municipality. (Spaces comprised in red dotted lines show them.)
- No. 3. My first letter to the American consulate at Aleppo.
- No. 4. My last letter to the American consulate at Aleppo.
- No. 5. Two copies of telegrams exchanged between the agent of light-house here and their administration of Constantinople.
Allow me to ascertain you, sir, that the two pretexts chosen for the refusal of the required permit are not justified in any possible way. As you will observe in the sketch the projected position for building the house is much behind the present building; as you will also notice that our first project near the light-house was abandoned by us only in order to please the authorities, for in reality they had no right to prevent even that building, whose heights was not to have reached the lower lamps of the light-house by 9 feet.
I remain, etc,
The Representative of the Stamford Manufacturing Company.
The Stamford Manufacturing Company to Mr. Hirsch.
Confirm telegram 6th, letter 11th. Case very urgent.
Mr. Walker to Mr. Hirsch.
Sir: We beg to confirm our telegram of yesterday as follows: “Confirm telegram 6th, letter 11th, case very urgent.”
We received since your honored letter of the 9th instant and we can only express our thanks for the attention which you were good enough to give to our case.
Allow us once more to remind you, sir, that our position is very critical, having $250,000 worth of licorice root to handle during the next four months, the obtainment of the permit for building is needed by us most urgently.
We remain, etc.,
The Representative of the Stamford Manufacturing Company.
Mr. Hirsch to Mr. Walker.
Constantinople, March 23, 1892.
Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram of 6th instant, in which you stated that the authorities were throwing obstacles in the way of your obtaining permission to build your extension as desired. I immediately called at the Sublime Porte in order to ascertain whether the letter of the vali to the minister of the interior had been received, and found that it had not.
In due course of mail I received your letter of March 11 with the various incisures mentioned. In the meantime the letter from the vali to the minister of the [Page 567] interior had come and the proper representations have been made by this legation at the Sublime Porte.
I am now informed that instructions have gone from the minister of the interior to the vali which will cause the necessary permit to be issued to you. I hereunto return the various papers in the matter which you sent me and which, I suppose, you wish to keep in your files.
I am, etc.,
Mr. Hirsch to Stamford Manufacturing Company.
Constantinople, March 24, 1892.
Permit issued.
The Stamford Manufacturing Company to Mr. Hirsch.
Resumed work a week ago. Please accept our sincerest thanks.
Mr. Walker to Mr. Hirsch.
Sir: Confirming my letter of the 8th instant, I regret to have to trouble your legation again on the subject of the same question concerning the extension of our company’s buildings.
On the reception of your telegram “Permit issued” I commenced the works, which are still going on. I was advised also by Mr. Poche, our consul at Aleppo, that the vali received orders from Constantinople to grant the required permit, and two days later our Caimacan sent me word by his son that such orders were received by him and consequently I can begin building. Six days ago I was asked by the municipality to send to their offices for the official document of the permit, which they refuse to deliver without my giving them a signed declaration that the building will never be turned into a church or a school. I offered myself to submit to that rule, but they persist in wanting an Ottoman subject established and residing in Alexandretta to guarantee me in a counter declaration signed by him in which he would be responsible and bound to destroy the building in the case (at any time) it should be turned into a church or a school. Finding myself in the impossibility to produce such a guarantee, I asked the municipality to allow me an interval of time in which they would not interfere with our building, in order to communicate with our legation. As a great favor, they have allowed me twenty days interval, after which they have the intention to stop us from building in the case I do not produce the above said guarantee of the Ottoman subject. In this state of things, I beg to ask you, sir, your valuable advice as to what I am to do in this circumstance, for on the 5th of May next the authorities will stop us again.
I am, etc.,
The representative of the Stamford Manufacturing Company.
Mr. Hirsch to Said Pacha.
Constantinople, April 29, 1892.
The legation of the United States regrets the necessity of having to renew its complaints to the Sublime Porte in the matter of attempted illegal exactions by the provincial authorities who continue to insist on unjustifiable guarantees every time an American citizen applies for permission to erect a building on his own land under the rights acquired by the protocol of the 7th of Sepher. An instance of such illegal exaction even after the building teskere had been issued has just been reported to the legation.
Mr. Walker, the agent of the Stamford Manufacturing Company, at Alexandretta, under the necessity of enlarging his warehouses there, applied to the provincial authorities for the necessary building permit, which, notwithstanding his continued efforts for many months and the regularity of his proceedings, he failed to obtain. Through the intervention of this legation with the Sublime Porte, his excellency the minister of the interior instructed the vali of Aleppo to issue the necessary orders for Mr. Walker to proceed with his building; but the local authorities at Alexandretta demand as a condition for the delivery of the official papers to Mr. Walker that he give a bond that the building be never turned into a school or church, and that the bondsman, who must be an Ottoman subject, shall engage to destroy the building if it be ever used for such a purpose.
Mr. Walker, who, as soon as he received notice from this legation that the Sublime Porte had ordered the building permit to be issued to him, had commenced operations, is now informed that unless he procure and give the above-mentioned guarantee, he would be stopped from continuing.
The recent similar complaints of this legation seem to have met with no result. If these illegal exactions on the part of the authorities are to continue without prompt corrections from the Sublime Porte, the rights guaranteed to American citizens by the protocol must be considered as having in effect been annulled. This legation is not willing to believe that His Imperial Majesty’s Government intends to annul or even curtail any rights so guaranteed to citizens of the United States, notwithstanding, however, it finds itself, owing to the continued repetition of the offense, under the imperative necessity of protesting against such unwarranted measures and to formally give notice that the Ottoman Government will be held responsible for all damages, direct or indirect, legal or equitable, caused by such illegal acts.