Office of the Historian

File No. 763.72/888

The Ambassador in Germany (Gerard) to the Secretary of State

American Embassy,
Berlin, September 2, 1914.
[Received September 16.]

No. 206]

[This despatch is printed ante, page 105. The following memorandum, enclosed therein was summarized by the Ambassador in a telegram of August 28, ante, page 221.]

[Enclosure-Translation]

Memorandum relative to the application of the London maritime war declaration in the present war

I

On August 7, 1914, the Imperial German Government replied to a verbal inquiry of the Ambassador of the United States of America that it was prepared to ratify immediately the London maritime war declaration of February 26, 1909. It likewise replied to a note of the Ambassador dated August 8 that it would observe the provisions of the Declaration of London provided the other belligerent powers did not disregard them accordingly the German prize ordinance, a copy of which was sent to the Ambassador on August 6, and a second copy of which is attached, embodies the substance of the Declaration of London.

II

According to the reports hitherto received, the provisions of the Declaration of London have not been observed by Great Britain and France in material points.

1.
The British and the French Governments have declared aircraft and their component parts as absolute contraband of war, whereas pursuant to Article 24, No. 8, of the Declaration of London they can only be considered conditional contraband.
2.

The British naval forces have repeatedly violated Article 35 of the Declaration of London in that they have taken away articles designated by them as conditional contraband from a ship bound for a neutral port. Thus they seized shipments of gold for German private banks on the Dutch [Page 225] ship Tubantia, bound for Amsterdam; a shipment of asphalt of the Deutsche Trinidad. Asphalt Gesellschaft, Ltd., on the Norwegian ship Kylemore, bound for Rotterdam; a shipment of coal of the German firm Krabbenhöft Bock on the Norwegian ship Ferm, bound for Caleta Coloso, Chile. These seizures likewise violate Article 33 of the Declaration of London, since the shipments were destined for private persons and not for the German armed forces or for German administrative authorities, so that they could not be defined as contraband at all.

Nor can the seizures be justified as requisitions, since according to the general report of the editing committee of the London_ maritime conference requisitions on board neutral ships, on the open seas are not permitted; see paragraph 2 of the remarks to Article 29.

3.
The British and French naval forces are taking away Germans of military age, but not embodied in the German armed forces, as prisoners of war from neutral ships, in contravention of the principles laid down in Article 45, No. 2, and Article 47 of the Declaration of London. Thus the British naval forces have taken away Germans liable to military duty from the Dutch ships Tubantia at Plymouth and Potsdam at Falmouth, from the Italian, ships Revittoria and Ancona at Gibraltar, and from the Norwegian steamer Norwega in Bergen. French naval forces have taken like measures against the Spanish steamer Sister at Marseilles. In all these cases the, hostile armed forces have acted contrary to the provisions of the Declaration of London; for, as the, general report of the editing committee expressly states in the first paragraph of the remarks to Article 45, the whole conference was agreed for juridical as well as practical reasons that solely active military persons are liable to capture at sea, and not persons returning to their native country in order to fulfill their general military duty.

III

In view of this state of affairs the German Government has a very considerable interest in learning without delay whether Great Britain, France, and Russia are going to consider themselves bound by the provisions of the Declaration of London. Should this be the case the British Government would have to give back immediately the German goods seized on neutral ships, and the British and French Governments would have to set at liberty the Germans arrested on neutral ships. In the contrary case the German Government would have to reserve the right to disregard in the future for its part also provisions of the Declaration of London not in harmony with Germany’s military interests. It would accordingly be gratified if the Government of the United, States would cause the other belligerents to declare their, attitude toward the Declaration of London immediately.

In addition the German Government would be interested in learning what position the American Government now takes with regard to the Declaration of London, in particular whether it proposes to acquiesce in violations of its provisions by the naval forces of Great Britain, France, or Russia.

Berlin , August 27, 1914.