The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-04-12
SHIP SEIZURES is
A PAYING BUSINESS
FLAG-WHIPPING PRACTICED BY
GERMANY AGAINST ALLIED
POWERS A KNOWN FACT.
HOW THE GAME is PLAYED

1
Owners, Cargo Owners and Ger
man Government Agents Often
Precedes Capture of Neutral Ships.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden. - Flag
whipping is the liveliest and most
adventurous of the many new profess
sions suggested by the European war
to the enterprise of neutral states.
Flag whipping" is arranging bogus
seizures by a belligerent of ships
| freighted with goods which the bel
! ligerent badly wants. The business
fiourishes exclusively in the Baltic
Of 355 Swedish, 270 Danish and 90
Norwegian ships seized" since war
broke out, and taken into German
ports, a considerable proportion were
seized by amicable arrangement be-
tween shippers, cargo-owners and
German government agents. This
| fact has long been suspected. 1t is
now being proved by numerous trials
proceeding in Scandinavian states.
| "Flag-whipping' is the only prac-
tfcable way of getting certain classes
of goods into Germany. The Scan
dinavian states forbid the sale to all
! belligerents of most contraband ar
ticles; and they prohibit the export
to all countries of such goods, mstly
| food products and raw materials, as
threaten to be scarce at home.
From Sweden one cannot export
grain, cotton or copper, and many
other things. But these products go
by sea from one Swedish port to an
other. Also on the Baltic are ships
carrying cargoes of export forbidden
goods which Sweden sells to Russia
under special license. In exchange
| for the license Sweden gets certain
Russian products which Russia other
wise forbids export of.
How Germany Gets the Goods.
Denmark sells to Russia large
quantities of goods which are either
declared contraband by Germany or
are needed badly by Germany A
shipper, exporter or some other inter
mediary arranges with German ma
val authorities for bogus seizure.
, The ships movements are reported
to the Germans and duly German
torpedo boat turns up and escorts the
ship to Swinemunde.
If the ship is carrying to Russia
goods which Germany has declared
contraband Germany has a right to
seize the cargo without paying COM
pensation. The reason is that the
Seizure has been arranged; and
naturally the shipper of the contra
band has to be paid for his compiai-
sancy.
In Denmark are arranged more OF
these deals than anywhere else.
"Flagwhipping" is one Of the ways
in which Danes can sell to Germany
/ oversee goods which England has let
pass on the understanding that they
are going to Russia. This business
cannot be suppressed The Scandina-
Wan criminal codes do not provide
for the offense of inducing bell1g-
ernt to seize ones own property, and
as the Scandinavian governments
have no knowledge of the transac~
tions there is no remedy under inter-
national law The Swedish govern
ment prosecutes whenever it sus-
poets flag whipping.
The Case of Ole OhIssOn.
Ole Ohlsson, one of Stockholm's
| biggest merchants, is now under trial
for flag whipping" Ohlsson is head
of the firm of Stenberg & Ohlsson.
With him is accused the guards Of
| ficer. Meyer. The state prosecutor
declares that Ohlsson and Meyer ar
ranged with the German admiralty
| the seizure of the steamship England,
carrying several thousand tons Of
corn and wreat bran.
Ohlsson had formerly been impll-
Gated in the Seizure" by Germany
| of the steamship Gracia; and when
| the police learned he was connected
with the England they got suspicious.
They discovered that week before
| the seizure Ohlsson had founded
company, with a capital OF only
$4,000. to handle the affair. Meyer
was sent to Copenhagen to negotiate
with Germany In Gothemburg,
where the England had arrived from
Rosario, was engaged a ships cap
| tain. whose business was to watch
| the England and cablC Copenhagen
| the hour she was leaving Gothenburg
| for Stockholm and where she should
! be seized.