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Show I HOLLAND OBJECTS TO SHIPJEIZIRE THE HAGUE, Saturday. March CO. The seizure of the Dutch merchantmen merchant-men in American ports li charactt rlzed by th Dutch government, in a statement state-ment in the Official Gazette, as an act of violence which it will "oppose with all the energy of Its conviction and its wounded national feeling " The government gov-ernment takes issue with the proclamation of President Wilson regarding re-garding the dec Iblon of the United State, saying it contains assertions which are contrary to the facts. Tito statement saya the Dutch nation na-tion "with painful surprise" has taken notice of President Wilson s proclamation proclama-tion and that the seizure of a neutral mercantile fleet is unjustifiable It continues. "According to Presi-d'ibi Presi-d'ibi Wilson's proclamation. the Netherlands, owing entirely to German pressure, failed to observe the pre liminary arrangements which was pro- posed for the purpose of leaving idle no longer the Dutch tonnage in Amer-ican Amer-ican ports and furr.irh.ng an oppor-j tunii) for making voyages within a period of ninety days, pending a definite defin-ite agreoment on Dutch tonnage and rationing. This Is distinctly incorrect. "It U equally as incorrect as the allegation al-legation that Germany had threatened to sink two ships which were to sail from Holland with America's approval and i hat Germany had made increasing increas-ing threats to prevent both the observance ob-servance of such a preliminary arrangement ar-rangement and the conclusion of a permanent one. The real facts of the case are: "After the (American) war trade board had insisted that Dutch ships in American ports make tripe. Pending, a definite arrangement. The Netherlands Nether-lands government proposed that some of the hips should make voyages for 'he Dom mission for Relief in Ileleiiim. which Holland had always fostered sedulously for the benefit of distre.-snl Belgium and northern France When Information was receive l thai Germany Ger-many objected to America's demand that a Dutch ship sail from Holland each lime in exchange for a rolief ship sailing from America. The Nether land3 government deemed it a duty imposed by eood fa it h to inform the American authorities thereof immediately, imme-diately, sn that a ship which was then on the wav toward Argentina could be given, a different destination, The direct consentient e was ihni (nose ship- were kept moving, which was exactly in consonance with the provisional provi-sional agreement. "Respecting sailings to Cette (Frnnce). a Swiss Interest with which Holland sympathized warmly, the shipowners ship-owners agreed thereto eomnletely aft soon ns France nave assurances that i he ships would nm be detained at Getio. Accordingly, several ships were not sensibly delayed by the aforementioned objections, neither did Germany attompt to Influence the execution exe-cution of the provisional agreement which affected traffic between trans-Atlantic trans-Atlantic ports. What did seriously Interfere In-terfere with its execution was the fact that cable messages from ship owners v ie extremely slow In transmission and sometimes never were delivered The cause of this remains unexplained. unex-plained. "The fact Is that n majorilv of the ships had been chartered under the provisional agreement through the war trade board and part were already sniling to South America, but were -.looped enroute by the American ithorUiee, While in tlx Pacific f-lujis plying between the western en.v I of the United m and 'he Dutch Baal 'ndies made regular voyages without any impediment, direct or Indirect, by the Netherlands government. "As shown bv the foregoing, the al i:on that the Netherlands, naire r German pressure, was powerless observe the provision.il agreement is COnteary to fact. That the president w.is Imnrrer-tlv .'irivii-pil is nrnvcl r nn . ' lusivejy on a point of greater importance; im-portance; namely, whfre the tale-mentiom tale-mentiom the new demand that Dutch ships would have to enter the v. ar zone and the seizure which fol-1'iur-il Holland's reply." |