Ambassador Leishman
to the Secretary of State.
American Embassy,
Constantinople, September 14,
1906.
No. 31.]
Sir: As an illustration of the numerous cases
which are constantly being brought to the attention of the embassy, and
which it is often possible to settle with the local authorities without
referring to the central government at Constantinople thereby saving
much delay and hardship for the interested parties, I have the honor to
bring to the notice of the department the copies of a recent exchange of
correspondence with the consul at Trebizond, having reference to the
attempt made by the customs officials in that port to levy duties on
articles intended for the use of missionaries in the interior. As will
be seen from inclosure No. 4, the notice of the embassy was likewise
called to this by the British consul at Erzeroum, who had in turn been
informed by the British vice-consul at Van, both of whom have [Page 1393] charge of American interests
in these localities. I merely mention this in order to call attention to
the number of occasions arising in which we are indebted to the English
consular representatives in default of our own for information and
assistance. As will be seen, the stand I took in instructing our consul
at Trebizond, who had charge of the affair, was to insist on equality of
treatment with the citizens of other nations in the matter of customs
immunities for American citizens engaged in missionary work in the
Ottoman Empire, and I have expressed my gratification to Mr. Jewett at
his successful termination of this incident.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.—Telegram.]
Consul Jewett
to Ambassador Leishman.
American Consulate,
Trebizond, August 7,
1906.
Donane claims word missionary means a priest, and demands duty on the
American missionary women’s clothing and also on personal things not
of priestly character. Van boxes detained on that ground.
[Inclosure 2.—Telegram.]
Ambassador Leishman to Consul Jewett.
American Embassy,
Constantinople, August 9, 1906.
The embassy can not accept the new interpretation given by the local
Douane officials to the word missionary, and you will kindly ask the
director of customs to furnish you with his warrant for attempting
to change the customs privileges which have been accorded to
American missionaries for so many years. All we ask in the way of
customs immunities for American citizens engaged in missionary work
in the Ottoman Empire is equality of treatment, and while we have no
desire to ask for more we can not accept less.
[Inclosure 3.]
Consul Jewett
to Ambassador Leishman.
American Consulate,
Trebizond, Turkey, August 8, 1906.
Excellency: I have the honor to confirm my
telegram of the 7th instant, as follows: (Supra.)
In explanation I have to say that the custom-house authorities are
demanding duty on a number of things destined for the American
missionaries at Van, two ladies’ hats, two or three pairs of gloves,
some photographs and photographic material, etc., on the assumption
that only things suitable for priests are to be admitted free of
duty.
We have tried to convince the director and the inspector of the
custom-house that such an interpretation of the law is untenable,
but having failed I telegraphed to your excellency as above.
It appears that the customs authorities are making trouble for our
missionaries in many places. At Van Doctor Usher informs me they
demanded a deposit on mission boxes that had passed the custom-house
at Trebizond, and now say they have instructions from Erzerum to
keep the deposit. They have collected, at Van, duty on drugs for the
mission dispensary and hospital, on the hardware for the new mission
house, and on a scroll saw for the orphanage. [Page 1394] At Erzerum they have reinspected
and injured hams and other food products, opened canned goods, and
collected some duties on goods that had passed the custom-house at
Trebizond.
At Samsoun the Marsovan missionaries were compelled to pay duty on a
gas engine for the use of the industrial department of the college,
and duty was demanded last week on carpenters’ tools, chair irons,
turning and iron-working tools, etc., all intended for the
industrial department of the mission.
Most of these demands are made on the basis of the assumption that
only those things that are of a priestly nature are exempted from
customs duties.
I hear that the French Sisters of Charity have had some similar
trouble recently.
It looks as though the custom-house authorities had recently received
some new instructions touching missionary goods.
As this seems to be a matter of principle of some importance and one
which we have been unable to settle satisfcatorily here, I referred
it to your excellency.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 4.]
[Telegram from His Britannic
Majesty’s consul at Erzeroum, received by
the British embassy at Constantinople and forwarded to the
American embassy August 14,
1906.]
His Majesty’s consul at Erzeroum telegraphs under date of August 14
for the information of the United States embassy that the acting
vice-consul at Van has reported that the custom-house there, on
pretext that the Turkish Government has not recognized the American
dispensary at Van, refuses to allow medicines and goods belonging to
the missionaries to pass until duty has been paid on them.
Mr. Shipley has called upon the vice-consul to furnish a report on
the subject and suggests that it may be advisable in the meantime to
instruct the missionaries to pay the duty under protest if the goods
are urgently required.
[Inclosure 5.]
Ambassador Leishman to Consul Jewett.
American Embassy,
Constantinople, August 16, 1906.
Sir: I have to confirm my telegram to you
of the 9th instant, reading as follows: “The embassy can not accept
the new interpretation given by the local Douane officials to the
word missionary, and you will kindly ask the director of customs to
furnish you with his warrant for attempting to change the customs
privileges which have been accorded to American missionaries for so
many years. All we ask in the way of customs immunities for American
citizens engaged in missionary work in the Ottoman Empire is
equality of treatment, and while we have no desire to ask for more
we can not accept less.”
If you have been unable to settle this question with the local
authorities, it would be best to advise the American dispensary at
Van, in case they are in urgent need of the medicines and goods
belonging to the missionaries, to pay under protest the customs
duties on the same. Should you then not succeed in reaching a
satisfactory conclusion with the customs officials you will notify
the embassy and I will take up the matter with the Sublime
Porte.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 6.]
Ambassador Leishman to Consul Jewett.
American Embassy,
Constantinople, August 20, 1906.
Sir: As on the 16th instant I wrote to
confirm my telegram to you of the 9th instant with reference to the
difficulties encountered in passing missionary [Page 1395] property through the customs at
Trebizond, I will suspend further instructions on this subject until
I again hear from you as to the present status of the case and of
the success of your efforts to settle the matter in question. In
your dispatch of the 8th instant, however, you signal numerous fresh
difficulties in connection with the property of our missions. I will
ask you to ascertain with reference to the same whether the Turkish
authorities object to all articles imported for missionary use or
only to certain specified ones and to let me know regarding
same.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 7.]
Consul Jewett
to Ambassador Leishman.
American Consulate,
Trebizond, September 8,
1906.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your excellency’s telegram dated August 9, 1906, in
regard to difficulties of missionary boxes at the custom-house, also
your dispatches No. —, dated August 16, 1906, confirming the above
telegram, and No. 9, dated August 20, 1906, on the same subject.
Thanks to your excellency’s telegram and after a series of
pourparlers and a great deal of effort I succeeded in having all the
missionary boxes pass the custom-house free of duty except five
boxes of drugs for the Erzeroum mission that are still detained at
the custom-house pending the receipt of instructions asked from
Constantinople.
The custom-house authorities here pretend to have received recent
instructions from Constantinople not to let anything addressed to
the missionaries pass the custom-house free of duty which is not of
a character fit for a religious institution and religious people. In
the beginning, according to their judgment, gloves, ladies’ hats,
photographs, photographic material, and several other articles of
the kind were subject to duty.
We have finally arrived to make them understand (I do not know for
how long it will last) that our missionaries differ from other
religious denominations, that they are with their families and that
their way of living does not differ from that of people in civil
life, and consequently such articles are necessary for them.
It seems the objection still remains for drugs in quantity and for
goods in a certaint quantity, as, for instance, building material,
unless there is an official permit for a new building, screws,
hinges, tools, etc., for the industrial departments of the mission
schools, and any other article that seems to them inappropriate for
the personal use of the missionaries.
I am, etc.,
