File No. 763.72111/4183
The Collector of Customs at San Juan, Porto Rico (Moore) to the Secretary of the Treasury (McAdoo)
[Referred to the Secretary of State, October 26.]
Sir: Referring to Department circulars (office of the Assistant Secretary, 102574), dated April 28, 1916, and July 5, 1916,1 addressed [Page 758] to “collectors of customs at ports on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts,” in regard to neutrality observance, in which instructions are given to make a report to the Department in connection with each belligerent armed vessel that arrives, and to withhold clearance pending further instructions, and making certain exceptions as to the procedure to be followed in reporting the arrivals and departures of armed merchant vessels of French nationality, namely, that they “may be cleared without instructions from the Department, provided you would not materially vary your prior report on the same vessel when it last visited your port, as indicated above, and provided there shall be filed with you by the French consul at the port of arrival a formal assurance in writing in behalf of the Government of the French, Republic that the armament will be used only for defensive purposes,” I have the honor to request definite instructions as to whether or not a French armed merchantman arriving at a United States port with a gun mounted for defense against submarines, for the first time, is to be treated the same as an armed merchant vessel of any other belligerent nation—that is to say, that such armed merchantman arriving armed for the first time as above stated must not receive clearance from the collector until so instructed by the Department in each instance. It is understood, of course, by this office, that such a vessel may be subsequently cleared before specific instructions from the Department are received provided there is no material variance from a prior report on the same vessel.
The reason for requesting these instructions is that the French consul has called at this office several times and presented letters which he had received from the French Ambassador in Washington to the effect that arrangements had been made with the State Department to allow all French merchant vessels arriving at ports in this district, armed against submarine attacks, to clear without waiting for Department instructions, whether on a first or subsequent voyage and entry. I now understand, and had heretofore understood, the instructions to mean that on first entry of a French merchant ship armed against submarines a full report must be made to the Department as set forth in the circular of April 28,1 and subsequent arrivals of the same vessel must also be reported, but clearance of the vessel not held up providing there is no variance with the prior report on the same vessel, and provided that the assurance in writing is filed by the consul on behalf of the French Republic, that the armament will be used only for defensive purposes.
Respectfully,