The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-02-10
Can ship AIRSHIPS
BRYAN WON'T STOP EXPORTS AS
GERMANY REQUESTS.
UPHOLDS OUR POSITION

partment'S Attention to Purchasing
of Aeros by Allies-Bryan Makes
Reply That This Country is Not
Bound to Interfere.
In reply to Germany's protest
against the building of hydroaero-
planes by American manufacturers
for England and. Russia, Secretary
Bryan has informed the German am
bassador that the state department
does not concur in the contention
that such craft are vessels Of war
whose delivery to belligerent states
by neutrals should be stopped"
The correspondence on the subject
was made public Monday by Mr..
Bryan. On January 19 Count Won
Berastorff wrote:
"Mr. Secretary Of State:
''It has come to my knowledge that
a number of hydroaeroplanes have
been ordered in the United States for
belligerent states from the Curtiss
plant at Hammondsport, n. Y, and
IudI
delivered.
IAN airship named America was
delivered in October of last year to
England. Five more hydroaeroplanes
of the same type have been delivered
since.
ENGLAND has also ordered 21 hy-
droaeroplanes Of the I. n. model GO
horsepower from Curtiss.
"Curtiss is also building for Eng
land 12 hydroaeroplanes of the. X
model Of 100 horsepower.
Russia has also recently ordered
number Of hydroaeropIanes of the
X model from Curtiss. How many is
not yet known.
"The motors for the aeroplanes
are built partly by Curtiss himself at
Hammondsport, partly by the Hers
chel-Spillman motor factory at North
Tonawanda, n. Y.
t'The wings are made at the Cur
tiss plant, the minor parts by the
Autocrat Manufacturing company.
The Tonawanda Boat company fur
nishes the boat part.
There is no doubt that hydro
aeroplanes must be regarded as war
vessels whose delivery to belEgerent
states by neutrals should be stopped
under article s of the 18th conven-
ton of second Hague conference OF
October Is, 1907. Hydroaeroplanes
are not mentioned by name in the
convention simply because there was
none in 1907, at the time of the con.
ference.
"On the supposition that hydro
aeroplanes are. delivered to belliger-
ents against the wishes of the gov.
ernment Of the United States, l have
the honor to bring the foregoing to
your excellency's kind knowledge.
Accept, Mr.. Secretary of State, re.
newed assurances of my most distin-
guished high consideration.
81. Bernstorff.
Secretary Brya<'s reply dated Jan.
uary 29 follows:
"Excellency: I have the honor tc
acknowledge the receipt of your ex.
cellency's note of the 18th inst, and
in reply have to inform you that the
statements contained in your excel.
lency's note have received my careful
consideration in view of the earnest
purpose of this government to per.
form every duty which is imposed
upon it as neutral by treaty stipu-
lation and international law.
"The essential statement in your
note, which implies an obligation on
the part of this government to inter
fere in the sale and delivery of hydro
aeroplanes to belligerent powers is:
"'There is no doubt that hydro,
aeroplanes must be regarded as wal
vessels whose delivery to belligerent
states by neutrals should be stopped
undrr article s of the 18th conven.
ton Of the second Hague conference
Of October Is, 1907
GAS to this assertion of the charac.
ter of hydroaeroplanes, I submit the
following comments: The fact that a
hydroaeroplane is fitted with appa-
ratus to rise from and alight upon
the sea does not in my opinion give it
the character of a vessel any more
than the wheels attached to an aero
plane fitting it to rise from and alight
upon land give the latter the charac-
ter of land vehicle.
"BotL the hydroaeroplane and the
aeroplane are essentially aircraft; as
an aid in military operations they can
only be used in the air; the fact that
one starts it's fight from the surface
of the sea and the other from the
land is mere incident which in no
way affects their aerial character.
I'm view of these facts I must dis
sent from your eXceilency's assertion
that there is doubt that hydroaero-
planes must be regarded as war YES
sels,' and consequently I do not re-
gard the obligations imposed by
treaty or by the, accepted rules Of in
ternational law applicable to aircraft
Of any sort.
'In this connection, I further call
to your excellency's attention that,
according to the latest advices receiv-
ed by this department includes bal
looms and flying machines and thnir
component parts in the list Of adii-
tional contraband and that in the I'M
perial prize ordinance, drafted Sep
tember so, 1909, and issued in the
Reichs Gezetzblatt on August 8,
1914, appear as conditional contra
band 'airships and flying machines
(artlcle %, section 81.
"It thus appears that the imperial
government has placed and still re-
tainS aircraft of all descriptions in
the class Of conditional contraband,
for which no special treatment, in
volving neutral duty is, so far as
am advised, provided by any treaty
to which the United States is sigma
tory or adhering power.
GAS in the views of this depart
ment the provisions of convention 13
of the second Hague conference do
not apply to hydroaeroplanes, I do
not consider necessary to discuss the
question as to whether those provi-
sions are in force during the present
war. Accept, excellency, the renew
ed assurances of my highest consid-