Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-03-21
All Dutch Shipping
Continued from Page one)

RODS not exceeding 30 days.
! This proposal was accepted by the
United States government and on Jan. p,
1915, the Dutch minister at Washington
| handed TO the secretary of state of the
United States a note expressing the terms
| Of the temporary chartering agreement
and his governments acceptance thereof.
| This agreement provided among other
things, that l5o0co tons of Dutch ship
ping should az the discretion of the Unit
Ell states be employed partly in the ser
, vice OF Belgian relief and partly for
switzerland on safe conduct to Cette.
France. and that for each ship sent to
Holland in the service of Belgian relief
a corresponding vessel should leave Hol-
land for the United States. Two Dutch
ships in the United States ports with car
goes of foodstuffs were to proceed to Hol-
! land. similar tonnage being sent in eN-
change TO the United States for charter
as in the case OF other Dutch ships lyirg
in the United States ports
The agreement was explicitly Temporal
! ~ in character, and being designed to
meet an immediate situation, prompt per-
! formance was OF the essence. The Dutch
government at once disclosed. however,
mat II was unwilling or unable to carry
| out this chartering agreement which it
mad itself proposed. The first desire of
| the United States was to secure at once
shipping, as contemplated BY the agree
ment, TO transport to Switzerland food
stuffs much needed by the state. One
! difhcuty after another was, however.
| raised to postpone the charterinp of
/ al Chi f1,,
! 'houSh tue reason was never formally
expressed it was generally known that tie
Dutch ship owners feared lest their ships
should be destroyed by German subma-
llnes even though on an errand of NOR
ic| and though not traversing any Of the
so-calied danger zones proclaimed bv
! 'he German government That this fear
WAS not wholly uniustitied has unha unilv
oeeh SHOWN by the recent act of the tor.
man government in sinkink the Spanish
snip Hardihero outside the danger zone.
""eh carrying a cargo of grain for Swift
| ~eiE'hd and after the submarine com,
hiahder mad ascertained this fact by an
inspection of the ships papers.
IN respect Of Belgian relief the
Dutch government expressed its pres-
eht inability to comply with the agree
theht on the ground that the t,erm,p
government had given Holland To nm
uers'ahd mat il would forcibly nre-
vent thc departure from Holland of
! me corresponding ships which pnder
| inc agreement We're to leave coinci
i dentaliN for the United States. The
! D'tcH government even felt itself nm
tanic 70 secure the two carroas az
; loodstufs. which under tho agreement
I II was permitted to secure. since hero
again the German government inter-
Nened and threatened to destroy tho
equivalent Of Dutch tonnage. which
under the agreement was to leave Hol-
land for the United States
| "Ncarly two months have a,anuod
since the making of the temnorarv
cnarlerlhS agreement and the propos-
ed general agreement has lain even
longer without reply on the part Of
Holland. MEANWHILE German threats
! nave grown more violent. with a view
to preventing ANY permanent agree
mcnt and of fosing Holland to vio-
late any tempqSfx asrcemcnt.
] ON March Z. through Great Brit
am. f1nal proposal expiring on the
f, lo'h' was submitted to Holland. A
/ reply has been received. while in itself
/ unacceptable might under other CON
ditions have served as 4 basis "a.
further negotiations But the events
to which I have alluded has served
to demonstrate conclusively that we
have been attempting to negotiate
where the essential basis for an aerno-
mcnt. namely the meeting Of free wills
, are absent. Even if an agreement con-
Guided there is lacking that power of
independent action which assures pcr
, Torrance.
/ 4 FAX this not in criticism of the
butch government. I profoundly svln-
i pathize with the difficulty Of her posi-
/ tlon under the menace of a military
/ power which has in every way demon
Stfateu us diSdain Of neutra! rights
hht SINCE coercion does in fact exist
no alternative is left to US. but to ac-
conpilsh. through the exercise of orr
1ncisputable right as q sovereign. that
Whlch IS 50 reasonable that. in other
circumstances we could be confident
OF accomplishing il by agreement
: steps are accordingly being taken
, ~ p"t 'ii'o our service Dutch ShipDiry
! lying within our territorial Jurisdiction.
lhiS actlon on our part and the SIM.
Y iar actlon which is being taken BY GOV
/ ernments associated with US, leaves 10
! Holland ample tonnage for her dome.
TIC colonial needs. We have inforrla,l~
/ the Dutch government that the colonial
t1ade Will be facilitated and thar she
7 may ~ once send ships from Holla
! TO secure the bread cereals which Ter
People require. These ships VIII be
! freely bunkcred and will be immllr,
from detention on our part The liner
New Amsterdam which came within
our Jurisdiction under an agreement
for her return, will, of course. be per-
, mltted at once to return to Holland
! Not only so, bat she will be authorized
! to carry back with her the two carsoc>;
! Of fOodstufts which Holland would have
| secured under the temporary charter
| ing agreement had not Germany pra-
vented. Ample compensation will IL.
| paid TO the Dutch owners OF the sliDs
| which will be put into our service and
! suitable provision will be made to meet
the possibility Of ships being lost
through enemy action.
1T is our earnest desire to SAFEGUARD
10 the fullest no int