Evening star., 1939-10-26
u. S. Demands That Russia Return
City Of Flint and Cargo to Crew.;
Nazis Plan to Take Ship to Reich
Reply Of Moscow
To Representation
IS Awuited

secretary of State Hull announced
today the United States Govern
ment has demanded of Soviet Russia
the return of the City of Flint and
her cargo to her American crew.
The demand, Secretary Hull said
was presented by Ambassador Leu-
renee A Steinhardt, and no reply
has yet been received.
The American demand. he said
was based on the United States con-
ception of international law on the
subject.
Mr.. Hull said this country's views
Of the international law on the mat
ter embraced a United States Su-
preme Court decision in the case of
the British steamer Appam, which
was sent by the German raider
Moewe in 1916 into Hampton Roads,
Va. with German prize crew
aboard.
The Supreme Courts decision
called for the release of the vessel
and its cargo on the ground tha'
Germany had no right to send a
prize ship into an American port.
Mr.. Hull said the American position
also embraced article 81 of the
Hague Convention of 1907 which
said that a prize ship could put into
a neutral harbor only in case of
exceptional circumstances such as
stress of weather, breakdown of ma
chinery or lack of provisions.
In such case, the Secretary said,
the ship must be released and depart
after the exceptional circumstances
have been overcome.
Mr.. Hull said the American legal
position in the case of the City of
Flint had been set forth in several
long kilograms to Ambassador Stein
hardt
In Dark on Ships Status.
Mr.. Hull revealed that the State
Department is still very much in
the dark as to the status of the
City of Flint at Murmansk.
He did not have authentic infor-
nation, he said, on a report from
Berlin that the City of Flint had
put into the Russian port for re-
pairs He said he did not know
whether Russia had interned the
ship or not, and he had no infor-
nation that Germany and Russia
had agreed that the ship was to be
turned over to the former.
He had likewise no information
from the German government as
to whether II was instituting prize
court proceedings, he added.
Mr.. Hull informed inquirers the
State Department had communi-
Gated to the American Embassy in
Berlin all the information it was
able to get on the City of Flint
case and requested the embassy to
obtain from the German foreign
Office not merely all the facts it
could on the case but also ali the
relevant facts as to the attitude
of the German government.
Secretary Hull also said he had
Instructed Ambassador Steinhardt
to send representative to Mur-
mansk to talk to the American
crew. H estimated it would take
two days, however, to get there.
The State Department had been
advised by Mr. Steinhardt last night
that the crew of the City of Flint
Is safe aboard the ship in Murnansk,
Russia.
The ENJOYS message did not dis
close what would be done with the
ship, taken to the Northern Russian
bay with Nazi prize crew aboard
several days ago.
Mr.. Steinhardt quoted a dispatch
from Tass, Soviet news agency. say
ing the German crew had been re-
leased from internment. The dis
patch said the ship was taken to
Murmansk because her machinery
had been damaged.
Off1cials previously had made
clear that the United States ex-
pected to get the ship back. She
is owned by the Maritime Commits
sion and operated by the United
States Lines under charter. She
(See CREW, Page A-6.)