Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-14
CONTINUED From First PaEe.>

be exercised within the recognized
three-mile limit or not at all. He said:
The power to seize for infraction OF
law Is derived from the sovereign and
must be exercised, 1t would seem. with
In those limits which circumscribe the
sovereign power. The rights OF war
may be extended on the high seas, but
the pacific rights of the sovereign must
be exercised within the territory Of the
sovereign"
Congressional Enactment.
Thus one precedent apparently null
lilies the other But on March 2, 1893,
Congress enacted that a ship bound to
any port or place In the United States
might be boarded anywhere within four
leagues of the American coast, searched
and compelled to show its manifest.
Almost a century later. in 1891, the
Supreme Court ruled: "All government
for the purpose Of self-protection in
time Of war or for the prevention of
frauds on its revenue exercises an
authority beyond this limit (three
miles,"
Once beyond the three-mile limit,
however, the doctrine of the right of
search and seizure rests on very tenuous
precedents, and there does not seem to
be any general agreement among ma
tions. Generally q nation must be
guided by the specific circumstances,
frankly recognizing, in the words of
Marshalls decision in the Aurora case,
that If its actions ARE such as un-
necessarily to vex and harass foreign
commerce foreign nations will resist
their exercise, and If they are such as
are reasonable and necessary they will
be submitted to-" There is no hard
and-fast rule, such as that of absolute
control within the three-mile limit.
In time of war a neutral nation
generally abides very strictly by the
cannon shot" principle. In 1916, for
example. the United States expressed
its regret at the presence of British
cruisers of its coast. but 1t did not
deny their right to be there. Actual
invasion of the three-mile limit by a
fighting feet, however. would be para
mount to an invasion of the country
and a violation of neutrality. Inter
national law recognizes for merchant
ships the right Of innocent passage"
through territorial waters. War craft
do not have the same right. They
generally are allowed free roadway in
time Of peace, but their passage may be
prohibited at any time.
Has Faced Difficult Situations
Absolute control within the three
mile limit and the right Of search and
seizure for an indefinite distance out
side the three emile limit has involved
the United States in some difhcult situ-
ations, even before the passage Of the
Volstead act. Previous to the purchase
of Alaska by the United States. Russia
had tried to assert her sovereignty over
all Of Bering Sea. with the object OF
protecting the seals. This right was
contested strenuously by Great Britain.
Russia admitted that under ordinary
II. - II. ~ ytVaep
extraordinary and untenable claim. but
that due to the peculiar breeding habits
of the seal. It was necessary to preserve
the industry. The matter was COM
promised by treaties.
The United States inherited this
problem with the purchase Of the
great northern territory and asserted
her jurisdiction over the seal-inhabited
waters, regardless of their actual dis
lance from the coast line. Russia's
sealing treaties had come to an end
with the REIMBURSEMENT of her control
over the territory. The United States
based her assertion of supreme au-
thority on the same baSis-that the
sealing industry constituted the very
life Of the territory and that II the
animals were not protected they would
soon become extinct.
American Claims Relinauished.
This puzZling problem finally was
settled by the appointment of an inter-
national commission and the relin-
Quishment of the American claims.
The slave trade also produced puz"
cling problems in respect to the free
dom of the seas.
Slaves who could escape to British
ships anchored outside the three-mile
limit, it was ruled by the Court of
Kings Bench. by the very act of set
ting their feet on deck became free
men under the protection of the British
nag. Furthermore, any slaves on Amer
lean ships which entered the three
mile limit of Great Britain or any Of
her colonies were declared automatically
freed.
Apparently. however. there was no
serious American effort to protest this
twist of generally understood inter
national Law. It was up to the slave
owners to keep their slaves at home.
The United States strenuously main
tains its absolute control within the
tf1ree-mile- limit, but ordinarily. as a
matter Of international courtesy, does
not exercise this control over the crews
of foreign ships. 1t is ready to step in,
however. whenever there Is need.
Outside the three-rnile limit war
creates an entirely different situation.
A belligerent power always has main