TRANSFER DAY 1917

by Vincent Palancia

The United States had been wary of German interest in Danish West Indies since 1865. With shift in the balance of power in the Caribbean in 1902, Admiral George DEWEY, Chairmen of the General Board of the U. S. Navy, started a campaign to acquire the Danish West Indies to prevent Germany’s Kaiser WILHELM II from acquiring them.

Germany’s plans for the Danish West Indie’s

In 1847, the Hamburg-American Steamship Line (H.A.L.) was created in Hamburg Germany to service the Americas and Caribbean. In 1873, the company established its Caribbean headquarters on St. Thomas, and by1899, was the largest line servicing ships and passengers worldwide.

The Germany ruler Kaiser WILHELM II viewed H.A.L. as a means to expand German political influence throughout the world. The German Navy used the world-wide H.A.L. facilities for coaling and ship resupply. The U.S. Navy believed that Wilhelm intended to use company facilities on Hassel Island in Charlotte Amalie harbor, St. Thomas, as a covert means to establish a German Naval presence in the Caribbean to pursuit his Geo- political ambitions, in violation of the Monroe Doctrine. The Kaiser was also the largest stockholder of H.A.L. and a personal friend of H.A.L. Director Albert Ballin.

The U.S. Purchase Attempts of the Danish West Indies

On January 7, 1865, US Secretary of State SEWARD approached the Danish Ambassador in Washington, proposing to purchase the Danish West Indies (D.W.I.). The Secretary’s concern was German incursions into Venezuela and wished to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. To enforce the Doctrine, the U.S. Navy would need a coaling station centrally located in the Caribbean. A treaty was signed in Copenhagen on October 24, 1867, ratified by the Danish parliament and signed by the King on January 31, 1868. The U.S. Senate never ratified the treaty because many US Senators felt that Secretary SEWARDS’ earlier purchase of Alaska,” SEWARD FOLLY, that worthless large expanse of snow and ice,” from Russia, could not be repeated, the purchase price of $7.5 million was too expensive, and, the disastrous hurricane and earthquake/Tsunami in the fall of 1867, showed that the Islands were not safe for the Navy.

In the 1890’s, as France constructed the Panama Canal, then Admiral Dewey considered a need for Caribbean naval bases to protect U.S. trade through the canal. Purchase negotiations reopened for the D.W.I.’s, in January 1897 but were ended in April 1898 by Denmark as a courtesy to Spain; as the Spanish-American War, commenced April-August, 1898.

In 1901, the Navy, Admiral Dewey, renewed concerns to defend canal access. Negotiations between Secretary of State John HAY and Danish Chargé d’Affaires BRUN were concluded on January 24, 1902.The Treaty was signed by President ROOSEVELT and ratified by the US Senate, but the Danish upper house, the Landsting, had a tie vote, which meant the Treaty was rejected by Denmark.

But why the urgency to acquire the Danish West Indies?

At the conclusion of the Spanish-American War the U. S. military had acquired naval bases in Cuba, (Guantanamo Bay), Puerto Rico (Roosevelt Roads), and islands of Vieques and Culebra which could be used to protect U.S. economic and military interests in the Caribbean.

In July 1912, US naval intelligence intercepted a report that a Danish syndicate was about to be granted a major lease in St. Thomas Harbor to improve the port facilities in support for trade due to Panama Canal opening. This Danish syndicate was financed by German banks. A lease clause allowed the selling of the lease or parts to any friendly shipping interest or foreign government (Germany). Three months later, the report was confirmed with the official establishment of the Danish West India Company (D.W.I. Co.). Niels GRÖN, a Dane, who helped negotiate the U.S.1902 agreement, warned the D.W.I. Co. was “a German scheme” to take over the D.W.I.’s. By1915, the extensive improvements made to the St. Thomas harbor by the D.W.I. Co alarmed the U. S. Navy.

On August 3, 1914, the Panama Canal opened. The week prior, July 28th, Kaiser WILHELM II declared war against France and England, WW I had begun.

The German surface fleet, unable to compete with the larger French and British fleets, put their naval power into submarines, U-boats. By the end of the war, Germany’s 360 U-boats sank over 5,000 allied ships. Within ten weeks of wars start, U-boats sank ten British cruisers and interdicted maritime traffic, proving Uboats were an effective weapon. The British liner, ‘Lusitania’, out of New York with 1,959 persons on board was sunk by a U-boat off Ireland, 17 May, 1915 killing 1,198 passengers, 128 were US citizens. President Woodrow WILSON demanded reparations from Germany and the US Navy realized the serious threats U-Boats posed to American commercial and naval shipping.

Admiral George DEWEY, chairman of the General Board of the US Navy, since 1902, again led the call to purchase of the D.W.I .deny Germany U-boat bases on St. Thomas. In June 1915 negotiations opened in secret so as not to provoke Germany.

In a December 1915 memorandum to Secretary of the Navy Daniels, and Secretary of State LANSING, Admiral Dewey gave reason to purchase the D.W.I.:

“The General Board does not consider that there is any Military reason for acquiring the D.W.I.… ...Establishing a [US naval] base would not be worthwhile. The Danish Islands, however, do afford several harbors and anchorages ….., that would be very useful to a foreign nation [Germany ?] conducting a campaign in the Caribbean. If that nation [Germany?] were an enemy of the US, the resulting situation would be exceedingly embarrassing in the conduct of a campaign by the US. Denmark is a small nation, with limited sea power, and it would not be able to prevent the seizure of the Danish Islands by a strong military power [Germany ?] desirous of using them as a base. It might not even be able to withstand an attempt by such a power to purchase the Islands. It is advisable that the Danish Islands should come under our flag by peaceful measures before war.”

Denmark was reluctant to sell due to the financial commitment the D.W.I. Co. made to the port facilities. But Danish debt, over $2 million U.S. dollars, deficits of $200,000/year, and war interrupting commerce ruining their economy, decided to sell to the Americans. Negotiations dealing with sale price of $25 million in US gold coins, citizenship for D.W.I. residents, free access to US markets for D.W.I. products, and the recognition of the concession contract granted to the D.W.I. Co. were major concerns. A Treaty was signed by Secretary LANSING and Chargé d’Affaires BRUN on August 4, 1916, and President WILSON submitted the Treaty to the US Senate on August 8, 1916.

German Ploy to Save the Hamburg-American Line

A treaty provision provided that all private property, specifically the D.W.I. Co. with all of its concession clauses were to be respected. This meant that the D.W.I. Co. newly improved port facilities could not lease, purchase, or seize by the U.S. Navy to establish a naval base. But did such provisions extend to Hamburg-American Line port facilities?

On February 11, 1917, a Bill of Sale for the H.-A.L. facilities on St. Thomas was discovered. The sale date was January 22, 1917, but was not recorded until February 3rd, 1917, after the breaking of diplomatic relations between the US and Germany. Germany realized that America would declare war and, would seize all German properties as a “War Prize”. In the sham deal, H-A.L. properties on St. Thomas were sold to a Danish lawyer, Jens Peter JÖRGENSEN, a known German sympathizer. The purchase price of $175,000 was about one tenth true value, proved the deal was a sham.

As the two countries headed toward war, the U. S. took possession of the islands on March 31, 1917, “Transfer Day”. In Washington D.C., Treasury Secretary William G. McADOO, Secretary of State Robert LANSING, Secretary of the Navy Josephus DANIELS, and Rear-Admiral James H. OLIVER, newly appointed Governor of the Islands, presented a U. S. Treasury Warrant for $25 million in gold coins (48 tons of gold) to Danish Minister Constantin BRUN, sealing the deal. Upon wire cabled receipt of news that Minister BRUN had been paid in full, Commander Edwin T.POLLOCK Captain of the ‘U.S.S. Hancock’, anchored in St. Thomas harbor was appointed acting-governor for the purposes of Transfer, and a Transfer Ceremony occurred on the grounds of the Danish Barracks which is now the legislature building.

A week after transfer, 6 April, the US declared war against Germany. The US Government confiscated over $100 million worth of H.A.L. assets throughout the US, and all properties on St. Thomas. The Navy established a base on the confiscated H.A.L. grounds on Hassel Island, and a U.S. Marine battalion was landed on St. Thomas, to secure and defend the Harbor from a German attack. The Marines constructed five inch naval guns to defend the island.

Thanks to forward strategic thinking, initiatives and political efforts, St. Thomas was never threatened with attack and Admiral DEWEY, successfully kept German U-boats out of the Caribbean for the duration of World War I.

Aside from coastal defense duties, The U.S Marines on St. Thomas also arrested Julius Jochmensin, the H.A.L Managing Director since 1908. A search of his offices and private residence discovered he had ties to the German Government and Navy. He was suspected of being German “spy”, but that’s another story……...