File No. 763.72111B46/5
The Secretary of State to the British Ambassador (Spring Rice)
Washington, November 25, 1914.
No. 560]
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 20th instant,1 in which, by instruction of your Government, you bring to the attention of this Government the case of the American steamer Berwind, with a cargo of coal and under charter to the Hamburg-American Line, which cleared for Buenos Aires from New York on August 5 last.
It is stated that the Berwind never did in fact proceed to Buenos Aires; that on September 18 last she arrived in ballast at Rio de Janeiro, after having coaled the German warships Cap Trafalgar and Dresden; and that she is now again in the port of New York, having arrived there from Rio de Janeiro on the 15th instant. It is, therefore, requested that, in the event of the Berwind’s preparing to put to sea again with supplies or fuel on board, she may be detained in port in accordance with the rules issued for the guidance of United States officers in dealing with merchant vessels suspected of carrying supplies to belligerent vessels.
In reply I have the honor to advise you that, on November 21 last, this matter was brought to the attention of the Attorney General, with a view to such action as may be possible to prevent the Berwind or its owner from again using the ports of the United States as a point of departure of cargoes of coal or supplies for war vessels of the belligerents at sea in such manner as to constitute United States ports as bases of supplies for such armed vessels.
I have [etc.]