Evening star., 1937-12-24
Letters Are Seized,
Fishing Boat Held
on West Coast.
BY the Associated Press.


Navy frightened it's guard over
the entire Pacific Coast today
following seizure of sheaf of
letters, described as of SuS-
piciouS nature, from a japanese
liner and capture of a japanese
fishing boat by United States
customs agents.
DeStroyers continued their pa
troll off San Diego and San Pedro,
fleet bases. Mare Island Navy
Yard at San Francisco was
ringed with 100 extra guards.
Reports Of a raid on the japanese
liner Tatsuta Maru by customs agents
just before sailing time at San Fran
cisco were confirmed by United States
Attorney Frank j. Hennessy.
Letters Are Garnered.
The agents garnered sheaf of let
tiers. supposedly connected with opera
tions at the Bremerton Navy Yard
on Puget Sound yesterday.
Hennessy said he did not know the
letters contents.
The Government men acted in Sc
crecy, but the San Francisco Chronicle
said it understood the letters had been
forwarded to San Francisco from
Seattle, across the sound from Brem-
erton. The letters bore no stamp, the
Chronicle reported, and had been in
| trusted to an unidentified person
aboard.
The Chronicle said customs agents
| and postal inspectors have redoubled
their efforts in recent weeks to inter-
cept letters of suspicious nature,
addressed to undisclosed Far Eastern
| destinations.
Capt Valentine c. Hammack, assist
ant United States attorney in charge of
postal violations, said he had been
told "a letter or letters had been
| taken from the Tatsuta Maru but Il
do not know anything about their
| contents"
Tuna Clipper Seized.
Seizure at Los Angeles Harbor of a
l00-foot tuna clipper. the Nancy
Hanks, registered to an American
born Japanese, was followed by an
nouncement by Federal officials that
another, and possibly five more boats
suspected of japanese ownership,
would be detained
They alleged the Nancy Hanks
actually was owned by Y. Suzuki, a
japanese subject, although flying the
American flag and entering port duty
free for more than five years.
A libel-in-admiralty action, filed
against the clipper, would allow its
sale for damages, if upheld. Nearly
sl,o00,0oo in unpaid duties are in
volved for the seven suspected craft,
Federal officers asserted.
| Meanwhile several destroyers
prowled through Southern California
waters in what Navy official sources
continued to describe as routine"
| They tailed" ships, including the
japanese freighter Kanai Maru, into
Los Angeles Harbor, the Coast Guard
aiding.
At San Diego the Navy patrol has
halted and investigated several fishing
boats, although few Of japanese opera
tions dock there.
Mexico Tightens Check.
It was reported here the Mexican
government had ordered gunboats to
keep close check on Japanese fishing
boats off the coasts of lower California
and Sonora, following allegations alien
photographic experts were sounding
and charting the waters.
California has approximately 1000
commercial fishing craft owned or
manned by aliens, japanese compris-
ing about half this number.
Customs, immigration and Coast
Guard officials, it was learned, have
been checking ownerships.
The Navy has made no explanation
for its sudden intense watchfulness at
key points along the Pacific Coast this
week.
Twenty Navy ships are tied up at
the Mare Island yard, and 400 sailors
and marines are on guard duty. Nom
naval ships passing in the channel
are warned away.
Armed guards appeared at San Diego
Harbor Monday night when nine
World War destroyers were transferred
to San Pedro in a surprise order. Five
other destroyers have followed, some
patrolling around San Clemente Is
land, where the Navy has military
stores.