File No. 300.115C72/23
The Chargé in Germany (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 21, 10.45 a. m.]
4744. The following note relative to the sinking of the Columbian has just been received:
The undersigned has the honor to make the following reply to the note of Mr. Grew, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America, dated the 21st [Page 326] ultimo (Foreign Office No. 1442), relative to the sinking of the American steamer Columbian by a German submarine.
According to the investigations of the German naval authorities the Columbian was stopped by a German submarine at 2.30 o’clock on the afternoon of November 7, 1916, in 44° latitude north and 8° 44´ longitude west. The weather was clear for 3 nautical miles, but wind and sea were rather heavy. After the warning shot the flag signal “Send your papers on board” was given. The Columbian then hoisted the signal “I can not make out your flag.” This answer seemed proper since as a result of the position of the two vessels in relation to each other and of the direction of the wind the flags blew out towards the steamer. The submarine then approached closer under water, looked over the steamer, which had been stopped, more carefully through the periscope, and then came to the surface close to her. It was ascertained while the submarine was traveling sunken that the steamer carried the American flag and markings and bore the name Columbian New York; and also that she had wireless telegraphy apparatus. According to her course the steamer came from an English or a French port and, to judge from the empty wooden superstructures on her deck, appeared to have delivered there horses, namely, absolute contraband. On account of the difficulty of having a boat sent across in such a sea, the commander of the submarine dispensed with the examination of the papers, signaled to the steamer “You are released” and left her traveling on the surface. The steamer resumed her old course.
Soon afterwards it was reported to the commander of the submarine from his wireless station that since emerging wireless messages of the American steamer had been intercepted containing in open English, in addition to the distress signal SOS, reports concerning the submarine such as “Submarine cruising around us,” and the position of the submarine at the time, “Position so and so.” These wireless messages caused the commander to turn about and stop the steamer a second time. Notwithstanding the sea and the wind had become still heavier, he succeeded in overhauling the Columbian, which was making off, and forcing her by means of signals to follow the submarine; to use her wireless apparatus at a lower intensity only and solely for communication with the submarine.
The submarine then traveled during the night in a westward direction with the Columbian and the Norwegian steamer Balto which had been stopped previously and furnished with a prize crew, and examined the ship’s papers of the Columbian the next morning, the weather being better. After the examination the commander decided to sink the ship for unneutral service. The crew was taken over in its own boats to the steamer Balto and later put on board the Norwegian steamer Varingen together with the crew of the Balto. The Varingen received orders to take all the crews into the Spanish port of Camariñas and executed these orders. The commander of the submarine kept the captain of the Columbian with him on board for the time being, but sent him ashore on November 10 in the Bay of Camariñas.
According to the ascertainment of the facts as given above, the action of the commander of the submarine appears completely justified, for by means of her wireless reports as to the position of the submarine which were plainly intended to attract enemy naval forces, the Columbian had voluntarily placed herself in the service of the submarine-defense forces of the enemy, and had in so doing taken direct part in hostilities. Such an act was bound to clothe the vessel with the character of an enemy merchantman pursuant to the principles of international law (see also Article 42 [43?], paragraph 1, No. 1, of the Declaration of London), so that she could be captured and sunk as such a vessel. The sinking itself took place after the ship’s, papers had been secured and the human lives saved.
For the rest, if the Government of the United States asserts in its instructions to the Embassy at Berlin that the Columbian was traveling in ballast, it is plainly incorrectly informed. The report of Captain Curtis in the London Times of November 15 states that the vessel had a cargo of 9,000 tons when She encountered the submarine.
The German commander then ascertained upon examining the ship’s papers that the Columbian was carrying 4,900 tons of steel plates, and in addition, a small cargo of other goods including copper, potash, soda, motor cycles and parts of machines. According to the captain’s version the steel plates consisted of steel for shells, were therefore intermediate products for the manufacture of shells, and thus absolute contraband pursuant to Article 21, No. 2 of the German prize ordinance; the cargo of copper was likewise absolute contraband pursuant [Page 327] to Article 21, No. 88 of the prize ordinance. Since the ship was bound to Genoa, well known to be an Italian naval and military fortress and a base of operations and supplies for the Italian land and naval forces, there was a legal presumption of hostile destination attaching to that part of the cargo also which, like the motor cycles, belonged only to conditional contraband.
The report of the commander of the submarine on the sinking of the Columbian has been transmitted to the competent Imperial prize court at Hamburg, which will decide on the legality of the measures of the commander. Thus it would appear that the American parties interested in ship and cargo should be advised to advance the rights to which they lay claim before this prize court within the time limits and in the form prescribed by the German code of prize procedure.
The undersigned requests Mr. Grew, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America, to inform the Government of the United States of the above, and avails himself of the occasion to renew to him [etc.]
Zimmermann
Berlin , December 16, 1916 .