File No. 300.115/596
[Enclosure]
Resolution adopted by the board of managers of
the coffee exchange of the City of New York
Whereas of the total amount of coffee
annually imported into the United. States by its citizens,
amounting to about 870,000,000 pounds, about 73 per cent thereof
is shipped from Brazil and by far the greater part thereof is
transported to this country by foreign steamers; and,
Whereas a state of war now exists
between Great Britain and Germany and between other European
states, and it appears that one or more belligerent cruisers off
the South American coast have captured and destroyed upon the
high seas, without adjudication by a prize court, the steamer
Indian Prince, and her cargo of about 34,000 bags of coffee of
the approximate value of about $500,000, and other valuable
cargo, the great bulk of which was the property of citizens of
the United States, said vessel having laden her cargo at neutral
Brazilian ports and being bound to ports in the United States,
another neutral nation; and,
Whereas there are now afloat in
steamers of belligerent nations about 474,000 bags (02,568,000
pounds) of coffee, valued at about $5,318,000, largely the
property of citizens of the United States, bound from neutral
ports in South America to ports in the United States, and it
appears that there is grave danger of the capture of the
steamers carrying said cargoes and the total destruction of said
shipment of merchandise by belligerent cruisers notwithstanding
that said cargoes are not contraband of war, are the property of
neutrals, who are citizens of the United States, in course of
transportation between said neutral ports and are consequently
not good prize, and that other similar shipments have been
contracted for; and,
Whereas coffee constitutes one of the
staple imports of great importance and value to the citizens of
the United States and it is feared that if the aforesaid
destruction by the cruisers of one belligerent of enemy ships
and their neutral cargoes of coffee owned by citizens of the.
United States, shipped as aforesaid, continues, said shipments
now afloat may be largely destroyed and lost, to the great
damage of the owners thereof, and that the making of future
shipments will thereby be greatly restricted if not rendered
commercially impracticable, owing to increased rates of
insurance and the inadequate supply of neutral vessels available
for that purpose, to the serious loss [Page 319] and detriment of consumers and importers
of coffee in the United States; it is therefore
Resolved that in view of the serious
danger of capture and destruction now threatening importations
of coffee into the United States by its citizens in ships owned
by subjects of nations now at war, by war vessels of nations
hostile to the government of such carrying ships, the secretary
of this exchange be and he hereby is authorized and directed to
communicate this danger threatening such coffee shipments to the
Hon. William J. Bryan,
Secretary of State of the United States, by transmitting to him
a copy of this resolution, to the end that the Government of the
United States may take such steps and make such representations
to the nations now at war as will while saving and protecting
the rights of our citizens for indemnity in respect of such
losses as they have already sustained, result in preventing the
destruction by warships of any belligerent nation, of cargoes of
coffee and other Merchandise owned by citizens of the United
States’ in transit between neutral ports.
