The sun., 1915-02-27
May Charge MiSbranding Of
CargOrS aboard Char
tered Ships.
ISNN SUPPLIES WERE,
SENT TO KARLSRUHE
Provision for Indemnity
Against Damage IN
cluded i'm Contract.
WOULD PUNISH FOR
DISGUISED CARGOES
Action Expected to Lend
Strength to American
Protests.

The Federal Grand Jury began YES.
tprriay an investigation into the &C.
tivities of the Hamburg \ american
Line in coaliug and provisioning Ger.
man warshlps. Although such a"tivi.
ties do not constitute act'Ial violations
of the neutrality laws the Federal
invest cation is based on the theory
that some of the acts complained Of
=, TO make tp n conspiracy to dcfraud
The United States ny violating its
maritime laws relative 10 the clear
ancc Of vessels.
There are two courses Of procedure
which the Government can take In
he caSc-first, 10 charge the char
terers Of the vessels used to supply
the German warships with misstating
in their clearance papers the ports of
call and destination of the vessels
with the object of dislrmlns suspicion
as 10 the r-l purpose of the trip
second. TO charge the shippers Of the
goods. in many eases cOntriband. with
assembling the rca! nature Of the
cargo in It's manifest papers.
THIS second accusation = in sub
stanr. charge of mishranding
ships Chartered.
Evidence is in the hands NJ the Fed
cral authorities to show that the Ham.
hurr.AmeriCsin Line chartered for Its
pury1seS the Norwegian own'i steam.
ships Fran. Somerstad. fieine. Thor
I'nita. Neros and Mowlnck"l. and the
American owned steamships Lorenzo
and Berwind These ships, it is said
were not lea sod dir'Ctly from the own
ers by the Hamburg American Line
but were sub chartered through other
steamship lines {" which hey hal
been originally chartered
Among the documents which wlll Be
SuuT0ltltG 20 NAf NiidIlI > tT tF
Of the alleged conspiracy is the agree
ncnt said to have been entered INTO be
tween the Hamburg Ame rican Limo and
tho orG1nA chartercrs OF the ships b.
which the German line bound itself to
assume fun monetary responsibility for
the pops,htr detention or destruction Of
the steamships by heiligcrent powers
.t.g, t.,t,s
In case the vessels ar. damas by
reason OF tho attempt to transfer the
cargo cr any part OF the cargo to
German stctme- or N ~ ~ war he
Hamburg American Line will hc respon'
sible for all damage and the hire of the
.ps during the time Tie Ntsae.S ars
being repaired
TIE contract was signed ny Carl
Bucnz AS director OF tne haNlDuIg'
American Line
The FRAN and S0rnerstad were loaded
at Philadelphia about tNe middle or Sep
t,mh,r. The Fr.lm cleared for Bah,s
and the Somerstad for Nad,I. Later
the prospective course "f the Latter ship
: was changed for fernamhuco, This
however. was before the owners Of the
ships had seen the Hamburg Amer can
agreement
At sight Of that the owners, through
} their attorney, Ralph J NJ. Bullowa OF
A. Broadway. refused 10 have their yea.
p scls used as auxliarles to the German
navy and the carGoes were unloaded
the Somerstad later proceeding TO Gal.
weston and the Fran TO savannah There
the Fr1lrn took on cargo OF oil cake
conslgued 70 Danish ports.
captured ny British.
AT Loiwlcll. off the shetland IslandA
II was captured by a British war vessel
% and taken before - prl2" court, which
A at first refused TO listen to the story Of
=, It's captain that the owners had with q.
drawn from thcir original aEreemen
y with the HAMBURG American Line.
Nobody but an t!usishman would do
/, such a thing" was the curt vcri ct o.
the court Subsequent kilograms to d ~.
lomats here, however, confirmed tN-
truth OF the story and the Fran J
sent on its way with the compliments Of
the court,
The Nopos and the Mowipckei lsf;
Philadelphia with tho ctreocs assigned
to them by the Hamburg american Lin P,
/ The MowlnCke Was bound for Monrc
via by way Of Touoriffe Part way on
her -'ypern,r-o. assigned to the 81.
" by the HAMBURG American Line, accor
n in% to the aErcemcrt, gave orders u