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Show BIG LINER DISABLED BY ORDER OFJEU North German - Lloyd Passenger Steamer Kronprinzessin Cecilis Rendered Unseaworthy at Command of Embassy Em-bassy Official at Washington. Wash-ington. VESSEL ORDERED SOLD BY COURT Damage Done While the United States Marshal at Boston Was in Possession Pos-session and Both Owners Own-ers and Commander Are in Contempt. BOSTON, Feb. 17. The North German-Lloyd passenger liner Kronprinzes-eln Kronprinzes-eln Cecilie, while in the custody of a United States marshal under a libel order or-der from the federal court, was deliberately deliber-ately disabled at the direction of her German commander. Captain Charles A. Polack so testified testi-fied in the United States district court today, and added that he, in turn, had taken his orders from the German government. gov-ernment. The damage to the vessel was done on the night of January 31, three days before diplomatic relations between be-tween the United States and Germany were broken off. Under examination by counsel for the libellants, Captain Polack said that on that day he had received orders to render his vessel unseaworthy un-seaworthy from an unnamed official of the German embassy at Washington. Question Not Pressed. It was a tense moment when the witness wit-ness was asked the name of thia official. offi-cial. He hesitated a moment, and then, turning to the court, made this plea: J "Your Honor, I am an officer of the German navy, and if I should have to disclose the name of the gentleman in this hearing I might be tried for treason trea-son when I went home to Germany. I wish you would not oblige me to answer that question." Judge James -M. Morton, Jr., conferred con-ferred privately with counsel for the libellants and tho owners of the Kronprinzessin Kron-prinzessin Cecilie for a few minutes and then announced that as the attorneys for the plaintiffs were not disposed to press the point the court would not insist upon an answer, as no good purpose would be served thereby, and particularly as the reply might be of momentous importance to the witness. The Kronprinzessin Cecilie was bound from New York for Plymouth and Cher bourg when her commander was warned that war had been declared. He turned hack and found refuge at Bar Harbor, Me. On board t he steamer was gold shipped by the Guaranty Trust company and the National City Hank of New Cork to bankers in London and Paris, and these banks libelled the ve.-sel, claiming damages of $2,300,000 because of the failure to deliver the consignment. consign-ment. In November, 191-t. a tinted States marshal took possession of the steamer, which was brought to Boston, where she has since been tied up. When Count von Bcrnstorff was given giv-en his passports the libellants sought protection of the vessel from damage bv the crew, with the result that Unit-el Unit-el States Marshal John J. Mitchel took physical possession of the ship, putting the German captain and crew ashore. It was then found that the machinery had been tampered with, making it impossible im-possible to navigate the vessel until manv and expensive repairs had been made. , , .. The libellants sought damages in the United States district court, where they were refused. They appealed, and the United States circuit court of appeals overruled the lower court and sent the case back tor a hearing on a petition for the sale of the ship, which was heard todav, and for the assessment of damages, a'rguments on which will be made March 3. Vessel to Be Sold. The plaintiffs alleged that the vessel had been wantonlv damaged and asked that she be sold" forthwith. Counsel for the owners asked for a delay of two weeks until orders could be received re-ceived from the officials of the North German-Llovd line at Bremen and also that the case be delayed until the supreme su-preme court had passed upon the owners' own-ers' petition for a review of the case, which was expected on March 5. This request came after the testimony testi-mony of Captain Polack, and the court replfed that the owners appeared in contempt and so had no standing in court. The court ordered that the vessel ves-sel be sold by the marshal on April 11 unless on or befce February 21 the owners had furnished a bond of $200,-000 $200,-000 to repair promptly the machinery damaged and "protect the steamer from further injury. The cost of maintaining maintain-ing the ship, pending the disposition of the case, also was put on the owners. The court did not indicate whether any action for contempt would be taken against Captain Polack or Chief Engi-necr Engi-necr Sigmund Bierans, who was intrusted intrust-ed with the work of rendering the machinery ma-chinery of the boat inoperative. Summoned to New York. BOSTON, Feb. 17. Questioned by Attorney Edward E. Blodgett, counsel for the libellants, Captain Polack said that last spring soon after the steamer Sussex was sunk he was summoned to New York by his company's office and introduced to a gentleman who said he represented the German government. This man told him that trouble had arisen between the United States and Geriany, and it was about time for him to destroy the ship's papers. He was, warned that his ship should not fall into hostile hands. In subsequent questioning. Attorney Blodgett insisted that the witness had spoken of "ships," instead of a ship, the inference being that the captain had received orders also to have damaged dam-aged the two other vessels of his line tied up here, the Koln and the Witte-kind. Witte-kind. The witness was positive that he had spoken only of his own ship, but Judge Morton intervened to say that he also had understood the witness as speaking of ships. Captain Polack, however, how-ever, repeated that he had reference only to his own vessel. ( Orders Received. Eeturning to Boston, he arranged with his chief officer and chief engineer for the disabling of the ship upon the receipt re-ceipt of a code telegram which he was to send. On January 28 he started for Hot Springs, Ark., but stopped over in New Y'ork. During his stay there he received re-ceived his orders to damage the ship, and on January 31 dispatched the message mes-sage agreed upon to his first officer. Returning to Boston that night, he found the chief engineer engaged in crippling the machinery. Mr. Blodgett asked when and where he received his orders and he replied: "On January 31. at the docks of our company in Hoboken. I wa-s in the offices just before noon. Others present pres-ent were the superintendent of the company, com-pany, Captain Moller, and a representative represent-ative of the German government. I was already in the office of the superintendent superintend-ent when the latter gentleman came in." The question of the identity of this gentleman was then disposed of, after which the witness continued: "I was just taking leave of the superintendent, super-intendent, when the other gentleman said: 'The relations between the two countries are being severed. The condition con-dition is very serious.' "I started to take my leave. He said, 'You remain here,' and I remained. I asked, 'Now, shall we do 'what has been agreed to be done to our engines' He said, 'Yes.' The superintendent did not say anything." Asked what 'had been agreed, the witness wit-ness described his earlier visit to New York. |