Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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r -? Entente Must C "Lawi United States in Vigorous * Interference-"Washington and britain Will Meet Ri as Regards Inviolabii Washington, May 26.?The United 5 nritVi I Males, UtJLlOUliUllig iukuckuvo tt K.U i neutral mails, has notified Great iBritain a;.d France that it can not longer tolerate the wrong which American citizens have suffered and i continue to suffer through the "law-1 less practices' those governments j iave indulged in and that only a j radical change in policy, restoring the 1 U ited States to its full rights as a , neutral power, will be satisfactory, j The notification is given in the last American communication to the two : governments, the text of which was made Dublic by the state department j ton: glit. The text of the communication, ad-1 dressed to the British and French ambassadors, to whom it was deliver- i ed ^ Wednesday, follows: "I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your excellency's rote of April 3 last, transmitting a memoI randum dated February 15, 1916, and j communicated in substance to the r American ambassador in London on j February 28, in which are stated the contentfcins of'the British and French governments i-i regard to the right to detain and examine parcel and letter mails en route by sea between the "United States and Europe. "After a discussion of the use of the mails for the transmission of 'parcel' and of the limitations to be j placed on 'inviolable mail,' the joint' memorandum of February 15 closes vjith the following assertic_ . Bights of Mails. "1. That ;from the Standpoint of their right of visitation and eventual arrest and seizure, merchandise shipped in post parcels need not and .shall not be treated otherwise than; ' merchandise shippe-i in any other j manner. " '2. That the inviolability of postal correspondence stipulated by the 11th i convention, The Hague*of 1907, does ,' HARLEY - DAVIBSO THE WOSL A few second hand Moto your old Motorcycle and g( Harley-Davidson on install L ride. H. O. STOl Newben 1 . I WAN | AT C To Loan?$5< Real Estate at 7 j Fnr R pnt.. A Jk V/* JL J tage near Speer and a five room Point. For Sale?Ei in a good neighfc ft J. A. E [ ease i fess Practices" ?r - " . . A /Vote rroteszs /Against inuit i Confident That France 4 ? lies of International Law lily of Neutral Mails. not in any way affect the rights of the allied governments to visit and if occasion arise arrest and seize merchandise-liidden in the wrappers, oni velopes or letters contained in ^he mail bags. , . i ! "'3. That true to their engagements l and respectful of genuine "cones-' pondence" the allied gover meats will continue for the present to refrain on the high seas from seizing and co fiscatig such correspondence, lett.ers or dispatches and will injure their speediest possible transmission as soon as the sincerity of their char~ -A ?1 " ~ n onnrtn i cLCier Sllilll lltl V c UCCU aot^i iamu\4. "l.i reply the government of the United States desires to state that it does not consider that the postal union convention of 1906 necessarily applies to the in terferences by the British and French governments with the oversea ^asportation of mails of which the government of the United States complains/. * Furthermore, the allied powers appear to have overlooked the admission of the government of the United. States that post 1 - . .' > ?_~i? p&rt?el? may be treated as mexciiaudise subject to the exercise of belligerent rights as recognized by interna- j tional law. -But the government of j tie'United States does not admit that such parcels are subject to the sxer-| cise of the rights of police supervision, visitation and eventual seizure 'which belongi)to belligerents as to all cargoes on the high seas' as asserted in the joint note under acknowledgement. Doesn't Touch Mails. "It is .noted with satisfaction that the British-French government do not claim, and, in the opinion of this j goverment, properly do 'Qot claim, that their socalled 'blockade' measures are sufficient grounds upon j which to base a right to interfere with j all clashes of mail matter in transit j to 'Qr frcWthe- cehtrai powers. On the j Mt. I N MOTORCYCLES .Da BEST rcycles cheap. Trade in it a new one.' Buy a new nfents and pay while you t . ... ME, Dealer. _ c r* ry j . w* I TED fcWr^I? rilV/JU i OOto $2,500 on >er cent. ' . four room cot- , s Street School j cottage in High ghty acres land torhood. lurton contrary their contention appears to f be that though genuine correspondence is under conventional stipulation 'inviolable mail matter' other classes are subject to detention and examination. While the government of the United >States agrees that 'genuine correspondence* mail is inviol- j able, it does not admit that belliger-, nrtvyiT nthpr n'rivatp> sea ciius ma* ton; ^?? x,._. borne mails for any other purpose tha: to discover whether they contain articles of enemy ownership carried on belligerent vessels or articles of contraband transmitted under sealed cover as letter mail, though they may intercept at sea all mails consigned j out of and going into ports of the \ enemy's coasts which are effectively < blockaded. The governments of the United States, Great Britain and France, however, appear to be in su'd - | stantial agreement as 10 pmtiyic, The method of applying the principle is the chief cause of difference. Continue Their Coarse. "Though giving assurances that they consider 'genuine correspondence' to be 'inviolable' and that they will, trito their engagements, refrain on the high seas from seizing and confiscating such correspondence, the allied governments.-proceed to de-! prive neutral governments of the benefits of these assurances by seizing and confiscating mail from vessels in port' instead of at sea. They compel neutral ships without just cause to enter their ow.jj .ports., or i they induce shipping lines, through' some form of duress, to send their mail ships via British ports, or they detain of (vessels merely calling at' British ports, thus acquiring by force of unjustifiable means an illegal jurisdiction .the authorities remove all the mails, genuine correspondence as well as. post parcels, take them to London,.. where every piece, even though of neutral origin and destinaton, ds opened and critically examined to determine the 'sincerity of their! - 1- - 5? I character' in accordance vun .me interpretation given that undefined phrase by the British and French censors. Finally the expurgated remainder is forwarded frequently after irreparable delay, to its. destination. hips are detained en 'route to or from the United tSates or to or tion. Ships are detained en route to mails are held and delayed for several days and in some cases for weeks of from the United States or to or routed to ports of north Europe via*] British ports. This has been the procedure which has been -practiced since the announcement of February j 15, 1916. To some extent the same J practice was followed before that \ date, calling forth the pritest of this I government on January 4, 1916. But j to that protest the memorandum under acknowledgment makes .no reference and is entirely unresponsive. Can't Recognize Claim. I "The government of the United States must again insist with emphasis that the British, and French governments do not obtain rightful jurisdiction over ships by forcing or inducing them visit their ports for the purpose of seizing, their mails or thereby obtain \ greater, belligerent rights as to such ships ' than they there is, In the opinion of the govern ther is, in the opinion' of the government of the United States, no legal distinction between the seizure of mails at sea, which is announced as abandoned and. their Seizure from vessels voluntarily or involuntarily in port. The" ?ritjsh and (French practice on the use by neutrals of the world's highways for the transmission for correspondence. The pracootiiaiiv followed bv the allied powers must be said to justify the conclusion, therefore, that the announcement of February 15 was merely notice that, one illegal practice had been abandoned to make place for the development of- another more onerous and vexatious. "The present practice is a violation not only of the spirit of the announcement of February 15, but of the rule of The Hague contention upon which it is based. Aside from ? , ? / + tTiio if !c o vinlatirvn r?f thfi Drior It 10 U ? W?. A- ^ practice of nations which Great Brit-! ain arid her allies have in- the past assisted to establish and maintain notwithstanding the statement in the ; i iv memorandum that 'as , late as 1007 the letters and dispatches .themselves could be seized and confiscated.' During the war between the United States and Mexico the United States forces allowed British steamers to en ter av.d depart from the* port of Vera Cruz without molesting the mails intended for inland points. A War of iSecession Case. "During the American Civil war Lord Russell endeavored to induce the United States to concede that maipst.v's mails on board a pri vate vessel should be exempted from visitation or detention.' The exemption of mails was urged in October, 18G2, in the case of British mails on i I board the Adelia. On October 31 [ Secretary Seward announced that 'public mails of any friendly or neu- ? tral power duly certified or authen- ; ticated as such shall .not be searched i or opened, but be put as speedily as : mar be convenient on the wav to . their designated destination.' In ac- : cordance with this announcement the < government of the United States, in i the case of the British steamship Peterhoff, which had been seized with her mails against the protest of her i majesty's government, had her mails forwarded to destination unopened. "The same rule was followed "by France, as I am advised, in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870; by the United States in the Spanish-American war of 1898; by Great Britain in the "South African war, in the case of the German mail steamers Bundesrath and General; by Japan and substantially by Russia in the Russo- ' Japanese war of 1904. And even in the present war, as the memorandum of Great Britain and France states, their enemy, Germany, has desisted from the practice of interfering with neutral mails even on board belliger- j ent steamers. This is illustrated by j the- case of the French steamer Flor- j ide, captured by tne auxiliary cruiser i Prinz Eitel Friederich, cited by the j British and French governments in j support of their argument regarding j -parcel mails. In this case the . letter j mails of the Floride, amounting to! 144 sacks, were forwarded to their i destination: by. the commander at the , first opportunity open arriving in the ' United States. It would seem, there-!' fore, to be conclusively established ] that the interferences with mails of which this government justly .. com plains are wrong in principle .and in ] 4 practice. i' Hardships on Americans. "The arbitrary methods .employed by the British and French, govern- j ments have resulted mp^t disastrously to citizens of the ...United States. J Important papers which can. never ba duplicated, or can be. duplicated only* with great difficulty, such as United > ( States patents for - indentions, rare '' Inorol nonOrC rolatinpr tii! UUCUlllCUlo, icgBi' Jiayvcu a .w | the settlement of ..estates, powers of'; attorney, fire insurance claims, id-' come tax returns and similar matters i have been lost. .Delays ia receiving, shipping documents have caused great loss and inconvenience by pre-! venting prompt delivery of goods. Inthe case of-the Mac's iff Horticultural! company of iXew Vork large ' ship-; ments of plants and bulbs from Holland, were, -I am informed, frozen on the wharves because possession could ..:ot be obtained in the absence of! documents relating to them-' 'w^ich had been removed from the New Amsterdam, Oosterdyke and Rotterdam. Business opportunities are lost by *. * 1 failure to transmit promptly bids, specifications and contracts. The Standard Underground Cable company of Pittsburgh, for example, sent by mail a tender and specifications for certain proposed electrical-:works to be constructed in Christiania. After several weeks of waiting, the pa1 pers having failed to arrive, tne Amercan company was told that the bids ! could not be longer held open and the contract was -awarded" to a 1 -British competitor. -Check's, drafts, money orders, securities and similar property are lost- or detained for week6 ar.d months. Business correspondence relating to legitimate and bona fide trade between neutral countries, correspondence of a personal nature and also certain official correspondence such as money order lists and otner matter iorwaruea oy guveiumerit departments are detained, lost or possibly destroyed. For instance, the postmaster general informs me s' that certain international money 1 lists, from the United States to Germany, Greece, and other countries, and from Germany to the United States sent through the mails, have not reached their destination though dispatched several months ago. Itwas necessary to have some of these lists duplicated and again dispatched by the steamship Frederick VIII, which ^sailed from New York on April ( 19 and from which all the mails intended for Germany have been taken and held in British jurisdiction. As a further example of the delay and loss consequent upon the British practice the postmaster general also sent me a . copy of a letter from the British , postal administration admitting that J * ~ the mails were removea irum me ^ steamer Medan in the Downs on Jan- , uary 20 last and not forwarded until some time '"between 'February 2 and ] March 2, and that 182 bags of these mails 'were lost during transmission .to Holland on the 26th day of Febru- , ary by the Dutch steamship Mecklenburg.' The Medan arrived safely at Rotterdam a day or two after she , left the Downs. Many Complaints Heard. "Numerous complaints similar to the foregoing have been received by < i this government, the details of which are available, but I believe 1 have cited sufficient facts to show the unprecedented and vexatious i.ature of the interference with mails persisted in by British and French authorities. Not only are American commercial interests injured but rights of property are violated and the rules of in ternational law and customs are palpably disregarded. I can only add thai tlie continuing offense has led to such losses to American citizens and to a possible responsibility of .the United -States to repair them that this government will be compelled in the near future to press claims for full reclamation upon the attention of his majesty's government and that of the French republic. "The principle being plain and definite, and the present practice of the governments of Great Britain and France being clearly in contravention of the principle, I will state more in detail the position of the government of the United States in regard to the treatment of certain classes of sealed mails under a strict application of1 the principle upon 'Which our governments seems to be in general accord. The government of the 'United States is inclined to the opinion that the class of mail matter which includes stocks, bonds, coupons and similar securities is to hp resarded as the.! same nature as merchandise or other articles' of property and subject to the same exercise of belligerent right. J Money- orders, checks, drafts, notes and : other negotiable " instruments which may pass as:the equivalent of money,, are, it is. considered, also to be classed as merchandise. Correspondence, including -shipping documents, money order lists and papers 3f that character, even though relating to enemy supplies or exports, unless carried .on the same ship as'the! property referred to, are, in the opinion of this gbvernment to be ."" '"re garded as genuine * correspondence, [ ind entitled to unmolested passage. . Must Define Bights. i k'The government of the United States, in view of the improper rnethDds employed by the British and French authorities in interrupting mails passing between the United States and other neutrals and between the United States and the enemies of Great Britain, can no longer tolerate the wrongs which citizens of the United States have suffered and continue to suffer through these" metheds. To submit to a lawless j practice ot tnis cnaracter wouia open ; the dcor to repeated violations of in- 1 ternational law by the belligerent.; powers on the ground of military ne- i cessity of which the violator would | he the sole judge. Manifestly a neu--| tral nation can not permit its rights j an the high seas to be permitted or . cieij^'ed arbitrarily by the government of a warring nation. The rights of, ueutrals are as sacred as the rights 1 of belligerents and. must be strictly observed. "The government of the United j States, confident in the regard for inlernational la** and the rights, of neu-: trals, which ?he British and,French*j governments have - so often. proclaim Bd and; the disregard of- which- they | have urged so vigorously against' their enemies in the present war, ex- j peots The present practice of the British :ind French authorities in the' treatment of mails from or to the United 'States to cease and belliger- j _ I ents' rights, as exercised, to conform to the principle government the passage of mail matter and to the! recognized practice of nations. Only J a radical change in the present Brit-! ish and French policy, restoring to J the United States its full rights as i a neutral power, will satisfy this! government. "I have, etc. (Signed) RoDert Lansing." A Bad l^care. A southern man t^lls of a darky j mi t>? .,f IrtiAiirn i namea lneopimus ?x>aaici, am* ^, as "the champion banjo player of j Alabama." Wishing to afford a northern friend an example of real darky music, a Mobile woman went to Baxter's house with a view to enlisting his services at. a musical function. She found, his wife instead. "Very sorry, Missy," said Baxter's spouse, "but Theophilus he ain't playin' de banjo any more. He jest puts in all his time fishin' now." "What led him to give up his playinor?" oci-oH thp disaDDointed caller. J ttwiwv. ^ ^ Has he got relgion?" "No, missy, he- ain't got religions, but he's done got skeered." "Scared? Of what?" "Of dat minstrel show,- honey. De boss learns dat my ole man kin play, an' he offers him a stiddy job doin' it. Vassum. an' it skeered Theophilus so bad dat he quit banjo playin' right away." <<THF BATTLE CRY OF PEACE" coming. j GERMANY WOI LD WELCOME HOUSE AS PEACE ENVOY Merlin Thinks Teutons' Position is so Good They Can Afford to Stop the "War. Berlin, Tuesday, !May 23 (via Lon/'am ?* Oik \ 4 W Af V> /M* t ri f* 1V K f? 1 UUli., jUI.?AUVtUCl Visit uj Wi. E..*M. House to.Europe would come as no surprise to initiated "quarters here. The American rumprs to this . effect ai;e. regarded as having a certain basis in t'aci,.* although the opinion prevails that the trip would naturally be postponed until after the national conventions. It is hoped, here that shoiild-Col House pay such it, he will come this time as a harbinger of peace, or at any rate, to prepare if possible the foundations for a peace proposal difficult as this task is recognized to be. During his last previous visit to Europe, Col. House made no effort and conducted no investigation in the direction of peace, in Berlin at any event, having perhaps found absolutely adverse conditions in capitals of nations hostile to Germany. 'Presumably, also be had previous information that . American mediation would not be accepted as long as tke Jl'nited States continued to supply Germany's foes with cannon, shot, shell, cartridges,-powder and a thousand and one other war requisites. .'Moreover, no intimation had 'been given at the time of this visit -that irascibility in high quarters here on the munitions questions was in any way abated. Change In Berlin Sow. The situation, it miy be said, now has changed. Apparently there is no harm, from either a political or a strategical standpoint, in saying that Germany would welcome peace. As Arthur von Gwinner, the managi-g director, of the Deutsche bank in Berlin, stated to the Associated Press correspondent receutly^ Germany is in the* nnsition nf a noker Dlayer who has gathered in all the mon?y on the table and naturally is willing to break off an all night session and retire with his winnings, white the others persist ia continuing in..hope of-recuping some of ther losses. The cards, however, to continue the . simile are running strongly .Jin. .the Germany's favor, it is poiit'dfa out, as shown in -?. the renewed postponement in the long heralded Anglo-French offensive in the west, the steady though slow progress of the crown prince at Verdun, the victories of.the Turks and .finally the crushing results of the nffono!, c> in tho TrPilt.inO AU311 1C111 uutaoi- v/ in ^ . w -v. ? -. "Whether these events are enough to induce the entente allies to retire from what is looked upon liere as a lcsi.g game and whether the changed tone of the utterances of Premier Asquith and Sir Edward Grey, and what is considered a disavowal of their intention to crush Germany as a . ation and a commercial rival or dis member the empire are indicative-or receptivity toward reasonable peace proposals is- an uncertain factor the reckoning. "The "best posted neutral observers here are i nclined to "give an evasive auswer to these Questions and to hold that something else must take place to convince the entente allies that the expulsion of the German armies from occupied territory and the com pletion of the "on to Berlin" campaign are impossibilities. An one possible means of bringing about this receptive attitude in entente capitals, one of these neutral dplomats, who is not suspected of partiality for either side, recently suggested the presentation of evidence gathered by neutral, impartial agencies of Germany's ability to continue the struggle indefinitely/'-.' TILLMAN ABJURES OLD TIME FAITH Washington, May 20.?"I do not want my share of the stealing in this bill; and while South Carolina has items in it announcing to $300,000 I shall vote against it and hope it will not become law." In these words Senator B. R. Tillman began his remarks on the senate floor when he arose today to say that he would oppose the passage of the T.endine rivers and harbors bill. r ? o "We need the money so much more for more important things that it is criminal ia my mind to hesitate tor one moment or to discuss this bill at all," Senator Tllman continued. The senior senator thea said that if the bill should pass $40,000,000 would be wasted. ^yg-MY-Tisia ? ? ' i. i Cranio*. ^o);c 111 I^ v /'J^* ci *T * * * i '.Oi, i'\ f 14- . : Ol\. ^ a> *. ' v. - ''>* -pi; .3 # rc-.# . f . /. * . * ?*. ,(V\i 1 ^ - .