File No. 195.1/249
The Department of State to the British Embassy
Memorandum
The Department of State has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of His Britannic Majesty’s Embassy’s memorandum of January 2, 1915, in which, with reference to the reported purchase of the German [Page 676] ship Dacia, of the Hamburg-American Line, now lying at Port Arthur, Texas, by certain American citizens who have applied for the transfer of the ship to the American flag, the Embassy advises the Department that it is in receipt of information to the effect that the purchase price in this case is one third the nominal value; that the principal purchaser is not by occupation an owner of ships; and that the object of the purchase is to dispatch the ship, under the American flag, to a German port.
The Embassy adds that His Majesty’s Government reserves its rights as to the recognition of the validity of the transfer of the flag under these and similar conditions.
In reply the Department of State has the honor to advise His Britannic Majesty’s Embassy that copies of its memorandum have been sent to the appropriate departments of this Government for their information and consideration.