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Show SUUSGS OF IPS TO BE KEPI SECRET Decision of Treasury Department De-partment Will Become Effective at Once. WASHINGTON, Feb. 17. The practice of making public the destinations desti-nations and manifests of merchant ships leaving American ports- is to be discontinued dis-continued during the crisis with Germany Ger-many as a step in the protection of American interests from the German submarine campaign. No word as to the port for which any vessel 6ails or the cargo she carries car-ries will be made public by the government govern-ment officials who grant clearance and the great merchant fleet carrying American commerce abroad will come and go with all the secrecy of war vessels ves-sels in time of war. This decision of the treasury department depart-ment will bo made effective at once, it is said tonight, as a measure of precaution. pre-caution. It already is virtually in effect ef-fect at New York, and will be applied within forty-eight hours to every other American port on the Atlantic, gulf, Pacific and in the island possessions. Ship owners who wish to announce the destination of their vessels and the nature of their cargo will remain at liberty to do so, of course, but otherwise other-wise vessels may sail without their movements becoming known. The decision to withhold from the public the manifests and clearances granted vessels is not ascribed to any new development in the international situation, but has been reached, it is said, in the course of consideration of measures to safeguard shipping. Officials Of-ficials decline to discuss it. It has been pointed out, however, that. announcement an-nouncement of sailings from American ports for points in the Gorman war zone would be of great value if communicated com-municated to submarines, which would thus be enabled to lie in wait for their prey. The policy of withholding this information at New York, the chief port for such sailing, was determined upon a week ago, it is said, and with German raiders operating in the South Atlantic officials felt that the same safeguards should be extended to vessels ves-sels plving bettwen this country and South American ports. Should the departure and destination of a vessel become known, despite the government's precautions, to warships which might lie in wait for it, or to submarines operating in the war zone, it is felt that the withholding from publication of the ship's manifest still would prevent the dissemination of knowledge as to whether the vessel carried contraband. In line with the government's policy, observers at Sandy Key, Fin., and Cape Henry, Va., were instructed several days ago to cease reporting the passage pas-sage of ships. Observers at other points, it is thought, will shortly receive re-ceive similar instructions, if such instructions in-structions have not already been sent. |