The difficulty encountered by the United States in preventing violation of neutrality during the early stages of the World War is well illustrated by the action of pro-German interests in San Francisco. With the aid of certain American citizens a plot was devised, with every appearance of legality, to use that port as a base of supplies for the German fleet in the Pacific.
Under the pretense of "promoting the interests of the American Merchant Marine," a German steamer was transferred to American registry, loaded with general cargo, ostensibly consigned to a neutral port, and sent to sea under secret orders to meet the German squadron and deliver the cargo as directed by Admiral von Spee. The following account of these proceedings is based upon the personal knowledge of the writer, obtained in his capacity as U.S. Shipping Commissioner at the port of San Francisco, augmented by perusal of the trial record of the case.
Recoaling by ruse.—At the outbreak of the war, the German cruiser Leipzig was lying in the harbor of Mazatlan, Mexico. Upon receipt of the news, Frigate Captain Haim immediately put to sea, with the intention of joining the other vessels of the East Asiatic Squadron, commanded by Admiral von Spec, then cruising in the South Seas. Steering northward, "in search of coal," the Leipzig put in at San Francisco on August 17, 1914.
Here a difficulty arose on a question of neutrality. The Leipzig had coaled in a Port of the United States within the preceding three months, and therefore was not entitled to the privilege of recoaling. Accordingly, she put to sea and lay-to outside the Golden Gate.
At the instance of the German consul, aided and abetted by certain enterprising members of the local business fraternity, the Mexican steamer Mazatlan was chartered and loaded with 503 tons of sacked coal, ostensibly consigned to a firm in Guaymas, Mexico, but actually intended for transfer to the Leipzig at sea. Due to the vigilance of the port authorities, this ruse was detected and the Mazatlan was refused clearance.
The charterers pretended to be very indignant and loudly protested against the action of the local authorities as a “hindrance of commerce.” Finally, after receiving written assurance that the cargo would be delivered to the consignees at Guaymas, the customs authorities granted clearance. The Mazatlan proceeded to her port of destination and discharged her cargo. A few days later the Leipzig arrived at the Mexican port and took on board the coal originally intended for shipment at San Francisco.
With bunkers replenished and otherwise fully provisioned for a long cruise, the Leipzig proceeded southward at full speed. On October 14, she arrived at Easter Island and joined von Spee’s squadron, consisting of the cruisers Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Dresden, and Nurnberg, accompanied by a number of merchantmen acting as tenders.
German steamer “whitewashed."—Meantime San Francisco had become the scene of further operations, designed to keep the German squadron supplied with coal and provisions. The German steamer Alexandria (5,692 tons gross), owned by the Hamburg-American Line, arrived at San Francisco on August 7, 1914. Following the example of other German merchantmen at the beginning of hostilities, the Alexandria moved to an anchorage in the bay, where she remained safe from molestation by enemy ships in the Pacific.
During several weeks the transbay travelers regarded the interned vessel with interest and speculated upon the probable length of her stay in port. As time passed local interest subsided. At length even her name and nationality were forgotten. Suddenly the stranger became “conspicuous by her absence.”
The Alexandria had deserted the familiar anchorage, but beyond this fact nothing was known, at least by the general public. The mystery was deepened by the rumor that the vessel had changed flags. Soon it became known that she had been bought by a local company formed for that purpose, transferred to American registry, and renamed Sacramento. Without loss of time, the new acquisition to the American Merchant Marine was loaded with a cargo of coal and provisions consigned to a tramway company in Valparaiso, Chile.
When the new owners applied for clearance they were confronted by a demand for assurances regarding the bona fides of the change from German to American ownership, the actual destination of the cargo, and several other matters involving the question of neutrality. Warned by their experience in the case of the Mazatlan, the customs officials sought by every possible means to prevent any violation of the neutrality laws.
The circumstances of the sale afforded strong grounds of suspicion. The sale price of $135,000 was far below the actual value of the vessel, in fact a merely nominal figure. Further, certain individuals prominently associated in the transaction were identified as being in close touch with the German consulate.
A formal inquiry was held by the collector of customs, at which all parties, including the German consul, were present. Questions were asked and answered; guarantees were demanded and given; and bonds were put up to guarantee against misuse of the American flag. On the face of things the entire transaction had been carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of law. The “regularity” of the proceeding, so far from allaying suspicion, actually produced a state of “mora conviction” in the minds of the authors ties. In the absence of any legal ground upon which to detain the vessel, the customs officers reluctantly issued clearance papers.
Captain Jacobson, skipper of a coasting steamer, was placed in command of the Sacramento. He experienced considerable’ difficulty in securing a crew. The shipping articles described the voyage as “from San Francisco to Valparaiso, Chile, and return to San Francisco for final discharge) for a period of time not exceeding six calendar months.” Suspicion of the venture had spread among the seafaring men in port, and they were slow to sign on. With the aid of a “shipping-master” and a gang of runners a crew was rounded up- The last man was signed on at midnight and bundled on board the vessel as she lay at anchor, with steam up and ready for sea.
The crew consisted of forty-eight men- Included in this number were four members of the original German complement. The former chief mate, chief engineer, chief steward, and mess steward were engaged in the capacity of purser, advising engineer, chief steward, and mess steward, respectively. At the last moment Captain Jacobson was superseded by Captain T. A. Anderson, a former employee of the Hamburg-American Line on Puget Sound. By this arrangement the Sacramento and her entire crew were placed under control of the former German owners.
As a final measure of precaution the collector of customs ordered that the vessel s wireless apparatus be sealed, which order was obeyed without demur.
A prearranged “capture.”—The Sacramento sailed from San Francisco on October 15. Immediately upon clearing the land the real nature of the enterprise became apparent to all on board. The former chief mate (signed on as purser) "usurped" the authority of Captain Anderson and took command of the vessel. Simultaneously a "stowaway" appeared on deck. This individual turned out to be a German and an expert in the art of wireless telegraphy. By order of the new commander, the "stowaway" broke the wireless seals and ticked out a message, ostensibly from Captain Anderson to his agent in San Francisco, containing the cryptic words: "Vessel almost at a standstill. One thing in our favor—fog.”
During the next two weeks the Sacramento proceeded slowly southward "in an unusual route and irregular manner." On November 4 (three days after the Battle of Coronet) wireless contact was established With the German cruiser Dresden, and the following messages were exchanged:
From Sacramento to Dresden.
HAVE RECEIVED ORDER TO PROCEED DIRECT TO VALPARAISO. NOT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE SQUADRON, BUT TO AWAIT FURTHER ORDERS THROUGH CONFIDENTIAL AGENT AFTER ARRIVAL AT VALPARAISO. POSITION 24 S. 84 W.
Next day an answer was received, as follows:
From Dresden to Sacramento.
BY ORDER OF THE COMMODORE Sacramento IS NOT TO PROCEED TO VALPARAISO, BUT TO THE ISLAND OF MAS-A-FUERA. COMMODORE HAS SENT H.M.S. Dresden TO MEET Sacramento TO CONVEY THIS ORDER.
To this the master of the Sacramento replied:
From Sacramento to Dresden.
As I HAVE AMERICAN CREW, STOP US WITH SHOT ACROSS OUR BOWS, ACCORDING TO THE USUAL PRACTICE IN WAR TIME.
PROCEED WITH LIGHTS OUT
POSITION AT 6 P.M., 25.7 S. 83.1 W.
STEERING S. by E. 3/4 E. TRUE.
Final instructions were sent to the Sacramento, as follows:
THE MEETING POINT IS TO BE 20.10 S. 82.10 W.
6 NOVEMBER, P.M. SIGNED Dresden.
The meeting between the Sacramento and Dresden took place as arranged. The American (?) merchantman was formally “captured” and escorted to the coaling rendezvous at Mas-a-fuera, an uninhabited island situated about 450 miles off the coast of Chile.
Following the Battle of Coronel, Admiral von Spee put in at Valparaiso, leaving the Dresden outside to keep a lookout for passing vessels. After a stay of twenty-four hours in the Chilean port the German ships put to sea and made for Mas-a-fuera to complete the work of coaling and provisioning. The timely arrival of the Sacramento was hailed with great rejoicing by the assembled squadron. Hans Pochhammer, first officer of the Gneisenau, in his book, Before Jutland, thus describes the incident:
One day the Dresden appeared, in company with the American ship Sacramento, which she had attacked. The latter being laden with coal and provisions, her capture was very welcome to us, although it would be hard work unloading her, but we were beginning to get used to this kind of labor. The provisions were allotted to the warships, which came alongside her to receive them; all the coal that could not be taken by the Scharnhorst and the Dresden had to be transshipped to the Baden and Santa Isabel.
The voyage of the Sacramento was ended by the transfer of her cargo to the German squadron. This done she was sent in to Valparaiso, where the story of her “capture was announced with becoming solemnity.
On November 15, the German squadron steamed from Mas-a-fuera on its fateful cruise around Cape Horn, culminating in the Battle of the Falklands, on December 8, and the resultant destruction of von Spee’s squadron.
Trial and judgment.—The happenings on board the Sacramento, following her departure from San Francisco, remained unknown to the public until the receipt of news from Valparaiso. Then it was learned that the vessel had been "captured" by a German warship and her cargo "confiscated." The Sacramento had arrived at her destination empty. Needless to say, the owners made a formal protest, but this action was generally regarded as a gesture designed to "keep the record straight," rather than as a serious attempt to vindicate the rights of neutral commerce.
The government immediately took steps to vindicate its own rights in the premises. Two separate suits, civil and criminal, were instituted against the parties concerned in the movements of the Sacramento. In the civil proceeding the government sued the pretended owners of the vessel to recover the sum of $250,000, forfeited to the United States by reason of fraudulent registration. The criminal suit, based upon sec. 37 of the penal code, involved twenty-three individuals and four corporations. Of these, nine individuals and three corporations were held for trial.
The evidence presented by the government formed a complete case against the accused. The leading incidents of the Sacramento's voyage were brought out in court. The alleged sale of the vessel was exposed as a "clever piece of camouflage." The ownership of the vessel never in fact passed from German hands. The German government put up the money ($135,000) to "buy its own boat." A fund of more than $1,000,000 was banked by the German consul to the credit of the accused, out of which all expenses of the transaction were paid.
The items of expense included purchase of the cargo (nominally consigned to a tramway company in Valparaiso), payment of freight money, crew's wages, and other "charges." The chief conspirator received a fee of $7,500, with a promise of $500 a month until the end of the war. The other parties to the transaction received payment in proportion to the value of their services.
The court proceedings extended over a period of more than three years. The civil suit was settled out of court upon agreement by the defendants to pay the sum of $250,000, with interest at the rate of 7 per cent from September 22, 1914.
Judgment in the criminal proceedings was rendered on December 23, 1918, Four years had elapsed since the Sacramento sailed from San Francisco and the last gun of the World War had ceased to echo around the globe when the defendants appeared in court to receive sentence upon a plea of guilty. The corporations were each fined $100. The two chief offenders were sentenced to twenty-one months' and eighteen months' imprisonment, respectively, in a federal penitentiary. The other seven defendants were sentenced to penalties ranging from a fine of $10,000, or one year's imprisonment, to a fine of $1,000, or six months' imprisonment.
The latter penalty was imposed upon Captain Anderson, in consideration of a doubt as to the extent of his culpability in surrendering his command to the German "purser" of the Sacramento. Two defendants, who had been fined $5,000, or one year's imprisonment, failed to pay the fine and in consequence were obliged to pay the alternative penalty in the county jail at San Francisco.