The Secretary of State to the Consul General at London (Skinner)
Washington, August 28, 1914, 7 p.m.
[Telegram]
State specifically if proof and procedure to procurator general, London, referred to in your August 27, 3 p.m., for release of neutral cargo, apply to all enemy vessels captured by the British and taken to any British port or to vessels in ports of the British Isles only. When and under what circumstances does writ in prize-court action issue? Will prize courts be held at other British ports outside of London? If so, what is the procedure necessary for American claimants in such last-named cases? Owing to interrupted communication by wire and by mail, and great number of vessels suddenly seized and detained, it will hardly be possible for American owners to present a claim or proof of ownership within the usual time of monition. Many American owners have not yet learned of the seizure of the vessels; others do not know to what port vessel and cargo have been taken, or where or when the prize court may sit. The documents in many cases are marooned and parties cannot tell precisely whether the drafts and documents have been taken up. This uncertainty and confusion arise from the sudden outbreak of hostilities and the great amount of commerce afloat on the vessels of the countries now at war. Department does not consider that neutral cargo on any of the vessels captured or seized which sailed before the war and in ignorance of hostilities can be confiscated or adjudged prize under any circumstances, and that prize proceedings on such cargo are not appropriate. Many millions of American-owned goods are involved; great uneasiness exists amongst American exporters and importers respecting the future of their cargo afloat before the war. This Government expects, of course, that due consideration will be given American claimants, but it desires that all American property which at the time of its seizure was engaged in innocent and peaceful commerce shall not be subjected to the hazard of an adjudication as prize under existing circumstances.
You will render every possible assistance to American interests involved, and when so requested by American claimants, engage counsel on their account and cooperate with counsel in every possible way.