811.73/246
The Acting Secretary of the Navy ( Coontz ) to the Secretary of State
Sir: There is transmitted herewith a copy of a dispatch from Bear Admiral E. A. Anderson,96 supervising the naval operations in connection with the prevention of the laying of a submarine telegraph cable off Miami and Key West, and the reply of the Department97 indicating a suspension of action until the matters in question could be referred to the Department of State. Admiral Anderson has already been informed that no license or permit exists for the running of new telephone or telegraph cables between Key West and Cuba.
It would appear that the Master of the Colonia has definitely decided to comply with the wishes of the British Ambassador, and although that vessel will be kept under observation so long as she remains in the vicinity of Miami or Key West, her movements will not be otherwise interfered with. The question at issue which has not been met by any decision so far is the further disposition of the Tug Robert Clowry, which is carrying the shore end of the submarine cable proposed to be run between Miami and Barbados. If the tug is permitted to proceed to Key West and place the cable it now has on board, in the company tank at Key West, there develops a situation in which the Western Union Company has at its immediate disposal a length of cable which can be quickly run from a point on the Florida coast out to sea and beyond the three mile limit. The Western Union Company has shown a disposition to evade the law and there arises a question as to whether the presence of this cable at Key West will not give the company a signal advantage in case an evasion of the law is persisted in.
As matters now stand, the Robert Clowry will be held off Miami upon her arrival. A decision as to further disposition of this tug is requested of the Department of State.
Sincerely yours,