Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1915, Supplement, The World War

File No. 451.11B74/44

The Secretary of State to Breitung and Company, Limited

Washington, August 31, 1915.

Gentlemen: The Department has received your letter of August 25, in regard to the condemnation of the steamer Dacia by the French prize court, in which you request its further assistance in the matter.¹

In reply, the Department desires to call your attention to the generally accepted rule of international law, that, in cases of the character of the present one, the interested party must exhaust his local legal remedies before diplomatic intervention is appropriate. Accordingly, the Department thinks the owners of the Dacia should appeal from the decision of the prize court.²

I am [etc.]

For the Secretary of State:

Cone Johnson

Solicitor

1. Not printed.
2. An appeal was taken, the decision on which, against the appellants, was not rendered until November 30, 1916.