War Trade Board Files: Panama Canal, License Control
The Director of the Bureau of Transportation ( Richards) to the Acting Chief of the Washington Office of the Panama Canal ( Flint)
Dear Sir: Replying to your favor of the 26th instant [ultimo],1 I would be very glad if you will inform Colonel Harding, Governor of the Panama Canal, that we will give advices just as soon as the board [Page 1274] passes a lot of new regulations which they are now considering, and adopt special application and license forms.
Meantime, I think a fairly safe procedure to follow regarding neutral ships will be to allow any of them to pass through into the Pacific, without restriction, when they have come direct from some United States port, but if they have arrived from any other than a United States port, bound into the Pacific to hold them and cable us full particulars and await our instructions regarding license.
I also think it would be best for the present to have him hold up any neutral vessels coming into the Canal from the Pacific if they are bound to any other than United States ports, and cable to us for special instructions in each instance, stating the name of the steamer, nationality, register of tonnage (in case there may be more than one vessel of the same name), destination and total quantity of bunkers desired aboard when leaving the Canal, or in case of a sailing vessel, hold her by refusing license for ships’ stores. Any neutral vessel, however, that is bound directly to the United States allow to continue without restriction.
Very truly yours,
- Not printed.↩