Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-01-24
TO SEIZE THE DAC|A
A RIGHT OF BRITAIN
U. S. Officials Admit Purchaser
of German Ship Must De-
fend Registry.

Officials of the United States govern
| ment last night admitteds for the first
time that the British government has
a perfect right to seize the cotton
| laden ship Dacia. about whose trans
Ter to American registry from German
ownership question has been raised by
the British. and it was regarded as in
evitable that the ship must go before
prize court with the burden of proof
as to the validity of the new Amer
lean registry on the purchaser of the
vessel
Administration officials admitted last
night that they are powerless to avoid
the issue If the Dacia sails from CAL
| weston. Tex. to Rotterdam, via Norfolk,
as she is waiting to do. The case may
be taken up for diplomatic discussion
after the prize court has ruled. if such
ruling should seem to be in conflict
with the facts and evidence.
Right to Test Transaction.
The State Department was presented
with evidence that the Dacia, a/Ger-
man-owned steamship, had been sold to
an American citizen. and under the law
there was no power to refuse her reg
istry as an American ship. That the
British government has a perfect right
to test the genuineness of the transac-
tion by which the vessel changed her
flag is generally admitted and the
proper authority to pass upon this
question Is a British prize court. APP
parently the burden of proof is upon
the purchaser of the vessel, in view Of
the fact that she was purchased from a
~ 11,o A rt
can, and Is carrying a cargo destined
for Germany.
The prize court will be governed by
the we'll established rules of evidence
for such tribunals. it Is pointed out,
and the United States government is
such court II they appear to be in
conflict with the facts and evidence.
The case of the foodIaden steamer
Wilhelmina, which cleared from New
| tracing much more interest at the
State Department than that of the
Dacia. Though the exporters Of the
cargo appear to feel confident that
neither the ship nor the food can be
detained by the British. owing to the
admissions In the British note replying
! to the American protest against inter-
ference with shipping. their confidence
is not shared by all officials here.
While it is true that the British gov
I,
bury's declaration In regard to the ex-
emption from seizure of food carg0es
| destined for the civil population Of bel
| ligerent countries, indicated an snten-
| tion of living up to this view, It is
pointed out that certain reservations
| were made under which the cargo
might be seized
Reserve Powers Not Indicated.
1t is not clearly indicated in the Brit
! ish note just what these reserve pow
ers are, but 1t has been suggested that
the British government might hold that
there are no male civilians in Germany
| because all are eligible to military
service, and are. In fact, part Of the
| military establishment through the
elaborate German system of reserves.
| The State Department declines to
| make public its action in the case of
| the steamer Farm. which has been Or
| dered either to intern or to leave San
| Juan. Porto Rico. 1t is regarded as
| junneutrat for the department even to
| admit that such an order has been is
! sued much less to state the time al
| lowed for the German lieutenant COM
handing the Farm to obey the order of
! the American collector, in view of the
I fact that British cruisers are known to
be on the watch for the ship.
First Regarded as Prize.
The first disposition of the State De-
partment was to regard the Farm as a
| prize of the German cruiser Karlsruhe,
lin which case. under The Hague treaties
she would be required to leave the
| American port Immediately under pen
alty of the internment of the German
nrize crew and the release of the ves-
| sci Further consideration inclined the
! officials to the belief that the ship
| should be regarded as a tender to the
Karlsruhe, which. evidently. she was
trying to keep supplied with coal from
her cargo.
The government of Chile took this
| view OF the collier Sacramento, which
! was purchased by American from
the Hamburx-American line, given
| American registry, loaded with coal
and sailed from San Francisco to VAL
| paraiso On the voyage the Sacramen- =
to allowed part OF her cargo of coal to
be used to I'LL the bunkers~ek the Ger
man warships which afterWArd sank
Admiral Cradocks British fleet Off the
Chilean coast.
The Chilean government held that
this American owned vessel, by sup
plying coal to the German vessels, had
thereby constituted herself tender
and thus had become an auxiliary to
the German naval feet and WAS sub
tect to the same rules and privileges
as a German warship. The Sacramento
was interned without protest from the
United States and her crew detained In
tValparafso.