Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-09-28
SHIPPING BOARD
To GET 8 FORMER
GERMAN VESSELS
British Are Surprised When
They Learn That Crack Linz
erS, Which They Expected
to liein Are Given to j, S,

lbf hORNlNS JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED WINS
Washington Sept. 27.-The eight
former German liners alIocated to the
United States after the armistice, in
| Guiding the former Hamburg Ameri-
! can steamer Imperator, the second
| largest snip afloat, are to be turned
over to the shipping board by the war
department as soon as necessary sur
veys can be made.
The British ministry of shipping
here had expected that the lmpera-
tor would be turned over to its agents
at a. m. today at Hoboken, and the
vessel already had been promised to
the Cunard line for service between
New York and England Decision that
the ship should be delivered to the
shipping board was reached late last
night at a conference between board
officials and representatives of the
war department.
After their ALLEGATION to the United
States, the ships were used as trans
ports and Great Britain has contended
that their ALLEGATION was only tempo
rary and that when the troop move
ment had been completed they We're
to revert to the allied shipping pool
for permanent ALLEGATION. J. II. Ros-
setter, director of operations for the
shipping board, said today. however,
that the board held that the original
assignment of the ships was perma-
nent.
All Vessels in L. S. Ports.
Besides the Imperator the ships
are the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria,
Cap Finistere, Graf Waldersee, Prinz
Frederick Wilhelm, Pretoria, Mobile
and Zeppelin All are huge passenger
liners which had been laid up in Ger
man ports during the war. After the
armstice, they were delivered to
American naval officers in England.
All of the vessels are now in port in
this country. most of them at New
York.
All of the ships will be delivered to
the shipping board as soon as surveys
and necessary alterations can be made.
1t was said that with the German lin
ers seized in American ports when
this country entered the war, they
would be used in establishing new
American freight, mail and passenger
lines presumably to Great Britain and
Europe as well as to South America.
British Minister Surprised.
The British minister was greatly
surprised when informed that the YES
sci would not be delivered.
j. II. Rosseter, director for the
shipping board, and other board Off
board officials, take the position that
the ships became the property of the
United States government when they
were delivered by the Germans to
American naval officers at London for
use as transports.
The ALLEGATION had been made by the
inter-alIied shipping commission at
Paris, and Great Britain. which has
commended that it was only temporary
and that when the need for the ships
in the homeWard movement of Ameri-
can troops ceased to exist, they would
revert to the inter-allied pool for per-
manent disposition among the associ-
ated and allied powers as might be
agreed upon by the commission.
At the war department it was stated
that the position of the department
was that the ships were turned over
to it by the shipping board for the
specific purpose of transporting troops
and war supplies and that this activ-
ity having been practically concluded,
the obvious procedure was to return
the vessels to the board regardless Of
any international agreement.
Rossetcr Issues Statement.
]. II. Rosseter, director of the di-
vision of operation of the board, is
sued tonight the following statement:
at is understood by the United
States shipping board that the I'm
perator, Kaiserin Auguste Victoria
and six other eX-German ships now
in New York were allocated to the
United States under the terms of
peace, and the board therefore as
signed those vessels to the war de-
partment for the repatriation of
troops. This service being now per-
formed. the chairman of the board
requested the war department to de-
liver the ships to the United States
shipping board. Accordingly, the
war department this morning re-de-
livered the Imperator at New York
to the shipping board representa-
tives."
While no official of the shipping
board would stand sponsor for the
statement, it was understood that
the action of the board in retaining