7
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
FOR THE PRESS
OCTOBER 27, 1939
NO. 546
Ambassador Laurence A. Steinhardt reported to the
Department tonight from Moscow as follows J
"I have just seen Assistant Commissar of Foreign
Affairs Potemkin and have vigorously reiterated my indig-
nation at the lack of cooperation "by the Soviet Government
in withholding information from me while issuing com-
muniques with respect to the City of Flint through the
medium of the Tass Agency,   He replied that Tass was an
official agency of the Soviet Government and that it. was
the custom of his Government to make announcements through
it.   I told him that this was no excuse for his failure
to keep me informed particularly in view of my repeated
requests for information on "behalf of my Government which
had been the purpose of my daily visits to him.   After a
lengthy discussion I formally demanded that the vessel
and cargo be turned over to the American crew and be
authorized to depart.   He thereupon made the followi;
statement :
of Murmansk
in charge of a German prize crew without any previous
knowledge on the part of the Soviet Government and through
no act on its part.   The reason ascribed by the prize
crew for the entry was damaged machinery making the ship
unseaworthy.   When the Soviet authorities at Murmansk
judged that the vessel was again fit to put to sea, and
being desirous of preserving its neutrality, the Soviet
Government had ordered the vessel to leave the port of
Murmansk immediately under the same conditions as those
of her entry, namely, with both the German and American
crews on board and her cargo intact.   He added that the
order would be enforced immediately and that the Soviet
Government felt that its decision was not only in ac-
cordance with the well-recognized principles of interna-
tional law and consonant with the obligations of a
neutral but it was also the correct position to take
as between the conflicting claims of the United States
and Germany to possession of th<
and that by this he meant '-to send
status as she had entered one of M
'He said that his government did not consider that
it had the right to turn the vessel and her cargo over
to the American crew unless the German prize crew re-
fused to take her out, as in the opinion of his govern-
ment to do so would be an unneutral act.   In reply to a
question he stated that the decision of the Soviet Gov-
ernment to permit the German prize crew to take the vessel
to sea was final.
"I
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"I then asked him who had verified the alleged damage
to the machinery, to which he replied that he had no
information on this subject, but assumed this had been
done by the authorities at Murmansk.
"I again inquired concerning the welfare of the American
crew and he said that it was his understanding that they had
been on board the ship all of the time and were well.
'1 then referred to my difficulties in making contact
with the Captain or members of the crew reciting my repeated
attempts to get into communication with them by telegram
and telephone, as well as my inability to obtain a plane
today.   He disclaimed any responsibility for these diffi-
culties, passing over the subject lightly by pointing out
that the crew being on board the ship in the roadstead, in
conjunction with the average delays in long distance tele-
phone communication had probably brought about this
"unfortunate result".
"I am again endeavoring to complete a telephone con-
nection with the Captain of the CITY OP FLINT at midnight."
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