Evening star., 1939-10-19
American Seaports
And Waters Closed
To Be||igerent Subs
President Invokes
Authority Under
Neutrality Act
BY JOHN C. HENRY,


American seaports and territorial
waters were closed today to belliger-
ent submarines. Prohibition against
their entrance, except under mar
rowly restricted emergency condi-
tionS, was proclaimed last night by
President Roosevelt.
Acting under specific authority OF
the Neutrality Act, the President
issued his restrictive proclamation
In the wake of frequent reports that
foreign submarines have been
sighted In past weeks off the Amer
ican Atlantic and Caribbean coasts.
Conditions of Refuge.
Pointedly making his ban apply
both to commercial submarines and
submarines which are ships of war;
the Chief Executive left the under
seas ships the privilege of refuge
only in conditions of force majeure,"
defined as times of violent storms,
damage to operating machinery OF
the vessel, or similar circumstances
jeopardizing its safety. Even in
such cases, however, the ship must
sail in the prescribed waters on the
surface, with true flags showing, and
be permitted to remain only "a hours.
Presumably because all the world
is believed to have certain theoretical
If not posseSsive rights to use of the
Panama Canal, the President spe-
officially excluded the Canal Zone
from the prescribed area.
The proclamation did not, how
ever, offer any definition of terri
torial waters, phrase which always
has been flexible in character, but
which the President recently
stretched to new limits by defining
it as "as far as our interests extend"
At other times 3-mile and 20-mile
limits have been accepted.
Merchant Vessels Not Affected.
Inclusion of commercial undersea
boats in the prohibited classification
recalled that during the World War
German submarines twice visited
American ports on commercial mis-
sionS while their surface ships were
being completely blocked off by Brit
ish naval watches. Last nights proc
lamation did not extend to armed
merchant vessels, although the same
section of the Neutrality Act does
give the President discretion to i'm
pose a similar ban on such ships.
In closing his proclamation, the
President enjoineo on all United
States enforcement officers "the
utmost diligence in preventing vio-
lations and in bringing to
trial and punishment any offenders
against same" First enforcement
line in this case probably would be
the Atlantic patrol of Coast Guard
and Navy ships which has been on
duty for the past three weeks or
more.
Penalty Imposed.
Violation of the Neutrality Act, If
conviction follows, is punishable by
five years in prison or fine of S1O,-
600. 1t is believed the actual ships
in violation could be interned.
In another phase of wartime ship
ping affecting the United States, the
special fleet of five liners chartered
by the Maritime Commission to bring
back Americans from Europe will be
released within a few days, its mis-
sion completed.
The last of the ships, the st. John,
has just sailed for New York with
less than half its capacity filled. The
Acadia is due this week with a pas
senger list several hundred below
capacity.
Three others, the Orizaba, Shaw
nee and IroQuois, nave arrived in
American ports. Each made one
round-trip, and altogether they
brought back to the United States
about 2,080 passengers.
The State Department estimates
more than $4,000 Americans have
been brought home in the last two
months.