The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-10-30

in 1883.
 President Roosevelt dealt with more aggravated situation in Ger man-American relations last year b. recalling the United States ambas sador for consultation. The post re- mains vacant.
 Painfully diflcult problems arising from Japan's invasion of American rights in China, however, were chal' lenged by protest notes while tht United States ambassador remained on the job in Tokyo.
 There are several methods by which the United States could ap- proach the Soviet Union phase of the City of Flint controversy, including recall of Ambassador Laurence A Steinhardt, but this was believed unlikely.
 Less Drastic Move
 Less drastic but emphatic would be stiff note of protest against So- be based on general international viet Union procedure which might law provisions as well as on the un- derstanding between the two govern ments when Washington recognized Moscow.
 The vessel was taken by a German commerce raider three weeks ago to- day en route to a British port with cargo aboard alleged by the Nazis to have teen contraband. A week end state department summation of the case revealed that Steinhardt and his aides still had no first hand knowledge of the City of Flint or her American crew.
 Illegally Restored
 Charges that the Soviet Union had illegally restored the vessel to the Nazi prize crew in the neutral port of Murmansk and had withheld ade- quate cooperation from the Ameri- can embassy throughout were forti- fled by the department with an in- ferential complaint of sduplicity in assigning a cause for the ship enter ing Murmansk at all. When the ship first entered the Russian port lack of charts was given as the reason. Later, it was said that damaged ma- chinery" was the cause.
 Administration indignation recalls department resentment in August, 1885, when an extraordinarily vigor- ots protest was made to Moscow charging violation of the recognition pledge against interfering with the United States system of government.
 Pledge Made In 1883
 That pledge was made in one of a series of exchanges here on Nov. 16. 1883 when President Roosevelt and Maxim Litvinoff. then commissar for foreigner affairs. United States recognition of the Soviet Union fol- lowed these exchanges. Scarcely not e,l at the time among them was an exchange relating to the rights of United States citizens in the Soviet Union under which the state depart mefst may be able to protest now be- cause Steinhardt has been unable to get in touch with the American crew of the City of Flint.
 j, Conducted Orally
 Recognition negotiations were conducted orally between MT. Roose- welt and Litvonoff, after which they exchanged letters covering the issues raised. In one of the Nov. IS let ters, Litvinof proposed negotiations of a consular convention between the two countries whereby United States citizens would enjoy no less favorable treatment in the Soviet Union than the citizens of any other country. He suggested as 8 model the terms of the then-existing Soviet Union convention with Germany. It provided:
 1. Consuls would be informed of arrest of a foreign national within 72 to 168 hours. depending or. the area of seizure. Murmansk probably would warrant the lesser time.
 2. In places of detention "of all kinds" consular requests to visit for eign nationals under arrest shall be granted without delay"
 Some technicalities might arise as to the status of the City of Flint crew, whether they were under ar- rest" or otherwise. But in any event ti.ey appear to have been detained and during two days of the detention they evidently were under Soviet Un- ion rather than Nazi restriction be- cause, for that period during the ves- sells stay, the German crew was in- termed.
 Mfr. Roosevelt replied accepting the proposed basis of treatment for American citizens and in his letter