The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-12-03

While Germany VAS arguing that
The United States wsa responsible for
her desperate situation economically,
and while President Wilson WAS being
blamed for not breaking the allied
blockade. the German foreign nttiCe
WAS doing everything within tts pow.
sr 20 prevent German goods from
being shipped 10 the United States.
When. through the efforts of Amhas
xador Gerard, numerous atfer0 pts
were made TO get German goods In
nfadins medicines and dyestuTs. to
the United States. the German gov
ernn tent replied that these could not
leave the country unless an equal
amount 81 goods were sent to Ger
many Then when the state depart
r1ent arranged for an equal amount
OF American goods TO he shipped In
axcha NE the German foreign Office
said ali theee goods would have To be
shipped TO and from German ports
whAn the state 6epartrnent listened 10
this demand and American steamers
we're started on their wsv 20 Ham
burg and Bremen the German navy
was 40 hssy sowing mines off these
harbove to Keep the English feet away
that they failed to notify the Amer
lean shippers where the open cham
lean ships were sunk irving to bring
goods irto German 11nrhors that IL
heoa me Improbable for American
sh'rp~r- 20 try 10 accomn odAte Ger
many
GERMANY TSTFHip RFsTS
r. s. HISTORY
About this time also the German
govsrnment began It's policy of dis
coura@tnE American business In Ger
many Ambassador Gerard had had
= long wrangIs with the chancellor
over a hill which was introduced In
sse retchstaw shortly after the BE-
ginning of the war to purchase all
foreign of properties within the
German Customs union" The bill
waa examined by MIR. Gerard. who
for number Of years was a supreme
court Judge Of New York He dis
covered that the object of the bill
was TO put the Standard Oil company
out Of business by purchasing ali OF
This comp any's property except thai
iocated IN Hamburg. THIS was ths
jeker. Hamburg was not In the Ger
man Customs union, and the bill pro-
yided for the ccnnrcation OF all prop
erty not In this union.
Mr.. Gerard called upon the chan
eellor and told him that the United
such a Mil TO Do passed without a
vigorous protest The chancellor ask :
ID Mr.. Gerard whether President Will
son and Secretary OF State Bryan
woula ever protect such corporation
as the Standard OIL company was sup
posed TO be. Mr.. Gerard replied that
The very fact that these two offcials
were known in the public mind as
having no connection with this cor
poration would give them an oppor-
tunity of defending its interests the
MMsre ~ shA sogeTnrn snf would de-
tend the interests OF any other Amer
tcAn. Tho chancellor seemed sur
prised Mt this statement and Mr..
Gerard continued about as foliows;
'You know that Germany has al
ready been discriminating against the
Standard OH company You know
that the Prunsian state railways
charge thia American corporation
twice ~ much to ship oil from Ham
burg 20 Bremen Al they charge the
German oil interests to ship Ruman-
IAN oil from the Austrian border 20
Berlin Now don't you think that's
enouxhY~
The interview ended here and the
stIl was never brought UP in the
reichstag.
But this policy OF the government
OF intimidAting and intriguing against
the American interests was continued
until diplomatic relations were brok-
en- In December. 1918. Adofph Barth-
mann. ar American citizen. who
owned the largest shoe stors In Ber-