File No. 367.114M69/172.
The American Consul General at
Smyrna to the Secretary of
State.
American Consulate General,
Smyrna,
October 22, 1912.
Sir: I have the honor to hand herewith to the
Department a copy of a despatch I have this day addressed to the Embassy
at Constantinople, regarding the present status of the case of the
captain of S. S. Texas before the Ottoman
court.1
I have [etc.]
[Inclosure 1.]
The American Consul General at
Smyrna to the American
Ambassador.
American Consulate General,
Smyrna,
October 22, 1912.
Sir: I have the honor to confirm my
telegram of yesterday2 in reply to
telegraphic inquiry from the Embassy2
in the matter of the captain of the Texas.
The status of this case remains unchanged, with the single exception
that, owing to representations made by this Consulate General,
Macris has again been removed from the large room where he was
confined with several other prisoners and been given a room to
himself.
I obtained this confession by informing the Governor General that my
Government still held steadfastly to the opinion that this captain
of an American-owned vessel belonged to the jurisdiction of the
American Consulate and was being illegally detained by Ottoman
authorities and that all mental suffering or bodily discomfort
sustained by him as the cause of such illegal detention would be
taken into account in the final reckoning.
I have [etc.]
[Inclosure 2.]
The American Consul General at
Smyrna to the American
Ambassador.
American Consulate General,
Smyrna,
October 22, 1912.
Sir: Referring to my telegram of
yesterday, I have the honor to inform you that the procedure in the
case of the captain of S. S. Texas before the
Penal Court of this city has now taken a different phase. At a
sitting held today three petitions were read. One from the Ministry
of War, demanding the condemnation of the captain and the
Archipelago American Steamship Company to the payment of a sum
amounting to over Ltqs. 660 for the mine alleged to have exploded at
the time of the catastrophe. The other two, brought by the heirs of
certain persons who sank with the steamer, demand indemnification
for life and property lost, from the same parties. The company
having now been implicated in the case, the presence of the American
dragoman was deemed necessary? and for this reason the Court
adjourned and postponed the case for a later date.
The Consulate General has received summons for the general manager of
the company to appear before the Penal Court as defendant for
“causing deaths,” but these were not served by the Consulate in
virtue of Art. 4 of our Treaty of 1834 with the Sublime Porte.
I have learned that the claims by the relatives of the victims for
damages from the captain and the company have been provoked by the
Turkish authorities,
[Page 1335]
who
have been summoning persons to the Konak and urging them to sign the
petitions. I am at a loss to understand the motive of the
Government’s action, as the authorities here know better than
anybody else that the American Government does not recognize the
jurisdiction of the Turkish Penal Court in cases where an American
is implicated as defendant.
The American dragoman will therefore refuse to attend officially any
trial in the Ottoman Penal Court either against the captain or the
company.
I have [etc.]
