841.857 L 97/166½
The Collector of Customs of the Port of New York (Malone) to the Secretary of the Treasury (McAdoo)91
Sir: I beg to make the following reply to your letter of June 1st, 1915, as to the conditions, circumstances, character of equipment, passengers and cargo of the steamship Lusitania when she sailed from the Port of New York on May 1, 1915. You submitted eight questions, which I shall answer in the order of your submission:
1. When the Lusitania sailed from New York on her last trip to England did she or not have guns on board, mounted on the under-decks and masked?
When the steamship Lusitania sailed from the Port of New York on May 1, 1915, on her last trip to England, she did not have any guns of any calibre or description on any deck or decks, on her stern or bow, mounted or unmounted, masked or unmasked. This statement is made of my own official knowledge and is based upon the statements and affidavits of James G. Ross and Israel Finkelstein, United States Inspectors of Customs at the Port of New York, who had charge of discharging the cargo of the steamship Lusitania during her last stay in this port John F. Hoey, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York William J. Smith, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York, and a member of the Neutrality Squad; Frederick A. Dowsey, a supervising officer of the members of the Neutrality Squad; and Captain David J. Roberts, the Marine and Pier Superintendent of the Cunard Steamship Company.
[Page 429]These affidavits are affixed under the heading marked “Group A.”92 All of these men examined the steamship Lusitania and testify that she was without guns, arms or armament. In addition I, myself, boarded the steamship Lusitania on the morning of May 1, 1915, within one hour of the time of her actual departure and, after an inspection of her open bow deck and open stern deck, I can testify of my own personal knowledge that there were no guns of any character, mounted or unmounted, masked or unmasked, nor any blocks or blocking, or marked spaces on which guns might be mounted, on the said bow or stern decks, or the open promenade deck, around which I walked on the ship.
2. Did the Lusitania on said trip, to your knowledge, have Canadian troops on board?
The Lusitania did not have Canadian troops or troops of any nationality on board when she left the Port of New York on May 1, 1915. Moreover, the Lusitania carried no group or groups, no body or organization of passengers as such, with or without uniforms; and if any individual reservists of any nationality sailed on the Lusitania on this trip they did so as individuals, paying their own passage and receiving their own individual tickets. The Canadian troops, under my observation, are noteworthy for their military appearance. There were no individuals, and no group or groups of men of any particular military bearing or appearance among the passengers on the Lusitania sailing on this trip, which would indicate the presence of any individuals or groups of military. This statement is made of my own official and personal knowledge, and my official knowledge is based upon the statements and affidavits of James G. Ross, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York; Israel Finkelstein, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York; William J. Smith, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York and member of the Neutrality Squad; Captain David J. Roberts, the Marine and Pier Superintendent of the Cunard Steamship Company; and Charles P. Sumner, General Agent of the Cunard Steamship Company, who had charge of the inspection of all passengers before they were permitted to board the Lusitania on the day she last sailed from the Port of New York. These affidavits are affixed under the heading marked “Group B.”92
3. Did the Lusitania, to your knowledge, have, on earlier occasions or on any previous trip, Canadian troops on board?
The Lusitania has not carried on any trip since the European war began, Canadian troops or troops of any other nationality on board [Page 430] when leaving the Port of New York. This statement is made of my own official knowledge, and is based upon the statements and affidavits of William J. Smith, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York and member of the Neutrality Squad; John F. Hoey, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York and who, from August 7, 1914 to February 15, 1915, was a member of the Neutrality Squad and detailed to the Cunard Piers; Captain David J. Roberts, the Marine and Pier Superintendent of the Cunard Steamship Company; and Charles P. Sumner, General Agent of the Cunard Steamship Company. These affidavits are affixed under the heading marked “Group B.”94
4. Did the Lusitania on her last trip have munitions of war on board? If so, state exactly what said munitions consisted of.
Yes; the Lusitania on her last trip from the Port of New York had on board 4200 cases of metallic cartridges, three cases shell castings, 18 cases fuses, 1250 cases shrapnel, and one package containing an empty high explosive shell, cut in half. This statement is made of my own official knowledge, based upon the sworn manifests filed by the individual shippers of these consignments at the Custom House, and vised by the proper clerks of the Marine Division at the Custom House; and is based also upon the supervision and report of William J. Smith, United States Inspector of Customs at the Port of New York and member of the Neutrality Squad.
5. Did the Lusitania have on board on said trip 5,400 cases of ammunition? If so, to whom were they consigned?
The Lusitania had on board on the said trip, 5468 cases of ammunition. The Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Co. shipped 4200 cases of metallic cartridges, consigned to the Remington Arms Co., London, of which the ultimate consignee was the British Government. G. W. Sheldon & Co. shipped three lots of fuses of 6 cases each, and 1250 cases of shrapnel, consigned to the Deputy Director of Ammunition Stores, Woolwich, England. W. R. Grace & Co., for the Ingersoll-Rand Company, shipped three cases of shell castings, consigned to Superintendent of Experiments, Shoeburyness, England. Adams Express Company shipped one package of empty high explosive shell, cut in half, consigned to R. Gordon Blackie, Queen Ann’s Chambers, Westminster, London, England, who is the British representative of the Adams Express Company in London. The said 4200 cases of metallic cartridges, shipped by the Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Company, were of the calibre of 303, Mark 7, loaded with either Hivel #2 powder manufactured by the Hercules Powder Company, or Du Pont #19, manufactured by the Du Pont [Page 431] De Nemours Powder Company, packed 20 in a box without clips, 1,000 to a case, and containing 5 pounds of powder to a thousand cartridges. The three lots of fuses of 6 cases each, and the 1250 cases of shrapnel, shipped by G. W. Sheldon & Company, were shipped for the Bethlehem Steel Company of South Bethlehem, Pa. These fuses contained no explosives, and the 1250 cases of shrapnel were packed at South Bethlehem, Pa. and contained no fuses and no explosives of any description whatsoever. The three cases of shell castings, shipped by W. R. Grace & Company for the Ingersoll-Rand Company, consisted of 12 sample shells of a calibre of 5 inch, weighing 408 pounds net and 489 pounds gross, unprimed and unloaded. These shells were packed at Phillipsburg, New Jersey, on April 30th, 1915, and had no ammunition or explosive substance contained in them or in the packages which contained them. The one package of empty high explosive shell, shipped by the Adams Express Company to its British representative, was a single shell cut into sections and containing no explosive.
6. If you answer “Yes” to question 5, state the rules or regulations of the Department under and by virtue of which the Lusitania was permitted to carry said cases of ammunition.
The steamship Lusitania was permitted to carry the above said cases of ammunition by virtue of a ruling of the Department of Commerce and Labor, dated May 2, 1911, in interpretation and limitation of Section 4472 of the Revised Statutes of the United States. This ruling reads as follows:
“Department of Commerce and Labor Steamboat-Inspection Service Washington
Circular Letter 8516 May 2, 1911.U. S. Supervising and Local Inspectors, Chief Officers of Customs, and others concerned.
Gentlemen:
Tests of the handling of small arms ammunition, and the rough usage to which it may be subjected without risk of danger from fire or explosion, having been witnessed by representatives of this Department, you are advised that the results of these tests justify beyond doubt the conclusion that small arms ammunition may be transported without restriction on steamers carrying passengers, and that it need not be confined to the magazine of the vessel as heretofore required, with the exception that large calibre blank black powder ammunition should be stowed as previously required in the magazine.
All rulings previously made upon the transportation of small arms ammunition, inconsistent with the ruling now made, are hereby revoked.
Respectfully,
Geo. Uhler
Supervising Inspector General, D. N. H.
Approved:
Charles Nagel
Secretary.”
7. State whether or not the Lusitania on her last voyage carried any explosives of any kind or character. If so, state in detail the character of such explosives, the quantity thereof, when and where loaded upon the ship, and to whom consigned.
The Lusitania on her last voyage carried no explosives of any kind or character. The ammunition above set forth as part of the Lusitania’s cargo on said voyage did not contain explosives within the interpretation of our statutes and regulations as interpreted and promulgated by the Department of Commerce and Labor in the ruling cited above in the answer to question 6.
8. State what examination was made of the ship’s manifest before she proceeded on her last voyage, and what steps were taken to verify the same.
When Captain W. T. Turner of the Lusitania came to the Custom House on Friday, April 30, 1915, to get clearance for the steamship Lusitania, he went to the Marine Division and took the usual master’s oath that the manifest which he presented contained a full, just and true account of all goods, wares and merchandise which were actually laden or to be laden on board the steamship Lusitania. At this time the acting deputy collector, John Farrell, examined the manifest presented by Captain Turner to ascertain if the fixed preliminary steps had been taken, namely, if the clerks had examined the manifest page by page, and item by item, for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not there were any arms or ammunition included in the cargo and, if so, whether or not the clerks had made such notation in red ink at the side of each such item, so that it might be apparent immediately to the head or acting head of the Marine Division. To see also if the check of the payment of fees in the Cashier’s office was attached, and to be certain that all the oaths were properly signed by the master of the vessel. Acting deputy collector Farrell found that the manifest had gone through the usual routine and bore all the checks of all the clerks who were charged with the duty of examining this manifest. This statement is made of my own official knowledge, based upon the statements and affidavits of John Farrell, clerk and acting deputy collector of the First, or Marine Division of the Collector’s Office, Customs Service, Port of New York Fayette T. Brimmer, clerk of the Marine Division of the Collector’s Office, Port of New York; and John F. Morrissey, clerk of the Marine Division of the Collector’s Office, Port of New York. These affidavits are affixed under the heading marked “Group C.”95
It is practically a physical impossibility to examine the contents of each case and package that is put aboard or attempted to be put [Page 433] on board each outgoing ship from this port. During the early stages of this European war, I personally gave great thought and attention to the question of verifying the contents of packages and cases to be shipped on outgoing steamers. The particular purpose of such examination would be to ascertain if the contents of the package corresponded with the description of the contents in the sworn manifest. I called a conference here at the Custom House of the larger shippers at this port, together with the more experienced men of the Customs Service here and, after a long discussion and exchange of views, it was decided that it would be entirely impracticable to make a physical examination of each package or case going into the cargo of an outgoing ship. The reasons upon which the judgment of impracticability were based were that the shipments of closed cases at that time, and all the greater now because of the increased export trade, were so tremendous that it would literally take an army of men to open and verify the contents of goods in closed cases, replace the goods and reseal the cases. The expense to the Government would make it almost prohibitive. The delay to shippers and steamship companies would make it an untold hardship and inconvenience. The damage to goods would be immeasurable. Any one of these reasons, in the judgment of the conference, would be sufficient to make impossible and impracticable a plan for the physical examination of closed cases of outgoing cargoes. I was therefore obliged to abandon the project, except to the extent that orders were issued to the Customs officials, and particularly to the members of the Neutrality Squad, to report at once to me any circumstance of a suspicious nature with respect to any cargo, or any part of a cargo in which case a complete and extensive examination and verification of the contents of the particular consignment of goods and cargo would immediately be made by the Customs officials. This has been the utmost that could be done under the circumstances at this port.
In reply to your inquiry for any information additional to that brought forth by your specific questions, I beg to state that the steamship Lusitania, in her construction, was so built that certain sections were reinforced, and in her structure at certain points, bases were laid for mounting guns of a 6 inch calibre. The said bases were riveted to the steel structure of the ship but were entirely covered over at all times by the wooden planking of the decks. The reason why the deck of the Lusitania was built with provision for guns was that if the Admiralty should call the Lusitania from the merchant service to the service of the British navy, she would be more readily adaptable to naval purposes. Consequently, if any guns had been mounted, or there was any intention to mount guns on the Lusitania [Page 434] on her open bow or open stern deck, these guns would have been mounted on the stable gun bases provided for the purpose, and not upon any blocks or blocking or other alleged paraphernalia for this purpose. This statement is merely made to indicate the improbable character of any testimony which states that any guns were mounted on the bow or stern of the Lusitania on wooden blocks or blocking.
In order effectively to carry out in the Port of New York the mandate of the President’s Proclamation of Neutrality, and the general orders issued from time to time by the Treasury Department, I formed what has been called the “Neutrality Squad,” a squad composed of men picked out of the ranks of the Inspectors of Customs for character, alertness, faithfulness to duty and intelligence. To this squad I have assigned the particular duty of specific and special examination of all ships and cargoes to ascertain any possible violation of neutrality. After the Neutrality Squad was formed, each man assigned to neutrality duty was given a copy of the following specific and written instructions, viz.:
- 1.
- To report any repairs or alterations showing any intent to convert a merchant vessel into a vessel of war.
- 2.
- To report the loading on board, the unpacking or the mounting of guns.
- 3.
- To report the storing on board of unusual quantities of coal, except on vessels usually employed as colliers.
- 4.
- To report the painting of a vessel in the shade of dull, gray, usually known as “war color.”
- 5.
- To report the transportation of recruits, troops or reservists in bulk or organization.
- 6.
- To report any attempt to ship arms or other munitions of war; and
- 7.
- To report any single act or circumstance which would arouse any suspicion as to the legitimate purpose for which the vessel or her cargo was intended.
It has been under these instructions and through the medium of this Neutrality Squad that the information about the steamer Lusitania had been gathered, which is herewith respectfully submitted.
Respectfully yours,
- The text of this letter is from an authenticated copy on file with the Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany. The summary of the manifest of the Lusitania is attached to the letter, but appears not to have been included in the authentication.↩
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