Evening star., 1921-07-23
FIVE VEu|NERS'SE|zED;;
AWAIT -FOUR MORE
U. S. Officers Take Over
Ships Chartered to United
States Mail Company.
BY the Associa ted Press.

NEW YORK, July 23.-Agents Of
the United States Shipping Board
waited today for the arrival Of four
big steamers chartered to the United
States Mail Steamship Company. in
order that they might add them to
five seized last night.
The steamers seized last night were
among the finest in the United States
merchant marine, and all were for
mer German liners. They are the
George Washington, which President
Wilson used on his trip to the Ver-
sailles peace conferences; the amer,
ica, SusQuehanna. President Grant and
Agamemnon. Their aggregate value
is said to be 25,000O00.
The seizures resulted, according TO
Elmer Schlesinger, counsel for the
Shipping Board, from failure OF the
United States Mail steamship Com
pany to pay rentals aggregatins
about 100000, and because of GER
tain other alleged laxity by the
company in carrying out Its contract
with the Shipping Board.
Will Man One Ship.
Custodians were placed on board
all the seized steamers, and in the
case of the George Washington, which
is booked to sail for Europe on July
80, with a large passenger list, the
her itself, unless another company can
be found In the meantime 10 operate
her. Mr.. Schlesinger said.
Mr. Schlesinger said an investiga-
ton showed an unwiflingness on the
part of the previous Shipping Board
TO enforce obligations due them, ana
that approximately five million dol
lars had been spent by that board IN
reconditioning the vessels after they
had been chartered by the steamship
hn Cn
not have been spent by the govern
ment, as the ships were chartered on
q bare boat" basis.
Denies Line Is Responsible.
1t was emphasized by Mr.. Schles-
niger that the company was not re-
sponsible for this outlay OF money
declaring it to be voluntary act
of the retired board. The seizure OF
the vessels leaves the United states
Mail Steamship Company without q
Shipping Board vessel under its nag.
e. A. Ouarles assistant to the presl-
dent of the United States Mail Steam-
ship Company. issued a statement oe-
claring that the Shipping Boards ac-
tion was without warning anu aooo'
ioseiy was snerpSsI rsported some weeks since"
the statement said. that certain
forces, foreign in nature. were deter
mined to take the fine fleet OF pas
senger ships being operated by our
company from US and that they would
leave no stone unturned to accomplish
this end. 1t was further reported
that these interests were moving
heaven and earth to get the newly ap-
pointed Shipping Board to take some
sort of action detrimental to this
American company.
Rumors Not Considered.
$50 confident however. was the
management of the company IN Its
own Integrity and so little did II
believe any government official could
be Influenced by statements being
made against it. that rumors brought
to the management were not con-
sidered as having sufficient basis to
merit action.
"The action taken today would
seem to indicate that foreign inter-
ests and rumor mongers have been
more successful than probably even
they hoped. 1t can be said on pc
half Of the management that this
action viii be fought to the last as, tsia ana
movement will in the end be made
perfectly clear"