the organization and operation of the International Committee of
Berne, and its relations to the several civil Central Red Cross
Committees in the adhering States, to the end that the latter might
not alone co-operate with the governments of their respective
nations in time of war, but should perform analogous relief work in
each State in time of pestilence, famine or other national calamity.
Of the American National Red Cross, and its conspicuous peaceful
services in time of national suffering at home and abroad, it is
superfluous to speak.
Thus is clearly explained why, on such great fields of suffering and
disaster as the Ohio Floods, the Russian Famine, the Sea Islands
Hurricane, in Armenia and in Cuba, the American National Red Cross is
found endeavoring to carry out the benign intentions of the Treaty of
Geneva.
For the first time in the history of warfare, it was now proposed to fit
out, and maintain at sea, hospital ships for the relief of sick and
wounded. The Treaty of Geneva, however, only provided for the
recognition and protection of the hospital service of the army in its
operations upon the land. An amendment to the treaty was proposed by the
convention which met at Geneva on October 20, 1868, extending the treaty
to include hospital service at sea. This amendment, concerning naval
hospital service, was known as the "Additional Articles," and, although
the Government of the United States in acceding to the Treaty of Geneva
included the proposed amendment, President Arthur in his proclamation of
August 9, 1882, reserved the promulgation of the Additional Articles
until after the exchange of ratifications by the signatory Powers. The
Additional Articles were never ratified by the other treaty nations,
and, at the beginning of the Spanish-American war, they were not in
force as a part of the treaty. Spain was therefore under no treaty
obligation to respect the flag of the Red Cross upon the ocean.
Although the Additional Articles had not yet been formally ratified, the
Swiss Government, acting as an intermediary, and with a view to securing
their observance by both belligerents during the war, opened a
diplomatic correspondence between the governments of the United States
and Spain, proposing the adoption of a temporary agreement, or _modus
vivendi_, during the continuance of hostilities. The official
correspondence on the subject between the Secretary of State and the
Swiss Minister will be of interest, as showing the method by which the
temporary agreement between the two countries was secured, the
modifications made and the interpretation placed upon some of the
doubtful clauses:
SWISS LEGATION,
WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1898_.
MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: War having been now unhappily declared
between the United States and Spain, my government, in its capacity
as the intermediary organ between the signatory states of the
convention of Geneva, has decided to propose to the cabinets of
Washington and Madrid to recognize and carry into execution, as a
_modus vivendi_, during the whole duration of hostilities, the
additional articles, proposed by the International Conference which
met at Geneva on October 20, 1868, to the convention of Geneva of
August 22, 1864, which (additional articles) extend the effects of
that convention to naval wars. Although it has as yet been
impossible to convert the said draft of additional articles into a
treaty, still, in 1870, Germany and France, at the suggestion of the
Swiss Federal Council, consented to apply the additional articles as
a _modus vivendi_, during the whole duration of hostilities. The
Federal Council proposes the additional articles as they have been
amended at the request of France and construed by that power and
Great Britain.
My government, while instructing me to make this proposition to Your
Excellency, recalls the fact that, on March 1, 1882, the President
of the United States declared that he acceded, not only to the
Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864, but also to the additional
articles of October 20, 1868.
The Spanish Government, likewise, in 1872, declared itself ready to
adhere to these articles. The Federal Council, therefore, hopes that
the two governments will agree to adopt the measure, the object of
which is to secure the application on the seas of the humane
principles laid down in the Geneva Convention.
With the confident expectation of a favorable reply from the United
States Government to this proposal, I avail myself, etc.,
J.B. PIODA.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, _April 25, 1898_.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the
twenty-third instant, whereby, in view of the condition of war
existing between the United States and Spain, you communicate the
purpose of your government to propose to the cabinets of Washington
and Madrid that they recognize and carry into execution, as a _modus
vivendi_, during the whole duration of hostilities, the additional
articles proposed by the International Conference of Geneva, under
date of October 20, 1868, for the purpose of extending to naval wars
the effects of the convention of Geneva of August 22, 1864, for the
succor of the wounded in armies in the field.
As you note in the communication to which I have the honor to reply,
the United States, through the act of the President, did on the
first day of March, 1882, accede to the said additional articles of
October 20, 1868, at the same time that it acceded to the original
convention of Geneva of August 22, 1864; but, as is recited in the
President's proclamation of July 26, 1882, a copy of which I enclose
herewith, the exchange of the ratifications of the aforesaid
additional articles of October 20, 1868, had not then (nor has
since) taken place between the contracting parties, so that the
promulgation of the accession of the United States to the said
additional articles was (and still remains) reserved until the
exchange of the ratifications thereof between the several
contracting states shall have been effected and the said additional
articles shall have acquired full force and effect as an
international treaty.
I find, upon examination of the published correspondence which took
place in 1870 at the time of the war between France and North
Germany (British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 60, pp. 945-946),
that upon the initiative of the Prussian minister at Berne, followed
by the proposal made by the government of the Swiss confederation to
the French and North German governments, the then belligerents
severally notified to the government of Switzerland their
willingness to accept provisionally and at once to establish as a
_modus vivendi_ applicable to the war then in progress, both by sea
and land, all the additional articles to the convention of Geneva of
October 20, 1868, together with the subsequent interpretations of
the ninth and tenth articles thereof agreed upon and proposed by
England and France. I understand from your note that, although those
articles have not as yet become a matter of international
convention, it is desired that the United States and Spain accede to
the same, together with the same amendments and construction as
above stated. I entertain no doubt that the United States will
readily lend its support and approval to the general purpose of
those articles and be in favor of adopting them as a _modus
vivendi_; it has ever been in favor of proper regulations for the
mitigation of the hardships of war. But before it can accede to them
as a matter of fact, in the present instance, it must first fully
understand the nature and text of the amendments and construction
placed upon the articles by France and England as stated by you.
I would respectfully suggest, therefore, that there be furnished to
this government either the text or a clear exposition of the
articles, with the amendments and constructions referred to, in
order that the understanding may be complete. A certain pamphlet,
written by Lieutenant Colonel Poland in 1886, is said to contain
these amendments and constructions, but there is not now accessible
to the Department of State a copy of such pamphlet or other reliable
means of information on the subject. I shall await with pleasure
fuller and exact information from you of the terms to which we are
asked to accede.
Accept, etc.
JOHN SHERMAN.
SWISS LEGATION,
WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 4, 1898_.
MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: I have had the honor to receive the note
which your honorable predecessor did me the favor of addressing to
me under the date of the twenty-fifth of April, in reply to mine of
the twenty-third of the same month, upon the subject of the
proposition of my government to the cabinets of Washington and
Madrid to adopt as a _modus vivendi_ pending the entire duration of
the war, the articles of the twentieth of October, 1868, additional
to those of the convention of Geneva of the twenty-second of August,
1864.
The documents which, in the aforesaid note of your predecessor, were
desired and which, as I have had the opportunity of telling you
verbally, my government had sent at the same time that it instructed
me by cable to make the overtures on the subject, have just arrived,
and I enclose them herein in duplicate copies. They confirm the text
of the additional articles, the modification of Article IX proposed
by France and the notes exchanged between England and France
concerning the import of Article X. The Spanish Government having,
by note of its Legation of the seventh of September, 1872, also
declared that it was ready to adhere to the articles in question,
the Federal Council hopes that the governments of America and Spain,
appreciating the sentiments which have guided it in its course, will
be of accord in adopting as a _modus vivendi_ a measure which has
for its purpose the securing of the application upon the sea of the
humanitarian principles consecrated by the Geneva Convention.
Awaiting your communication to me of the decision which the
Government of the United States shall see fit to take in regard to
this proposition, I offer you, Mr. Secretary of State, the
expression of my very highest consideration.
J.B. PIODA.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1898_.
SIR: Upon receiving your note of the fourth instant, in reply to
mine of the twenty-fifth of April, concerning the proposition of the
Government of the Swiss Confederation that the United States and
Spain adopt as a _modus vivendi_, pending the entire duration of the
war, the articles of October 20, 1868, additional to those of the
convention of Geneva on August 22, 1864, I communicated all the
papers in the case to the Secretary of the Navy, calling his
attention to the form of the _modus vivendi_ adopted during the
Franco-German war, which your government was pleased to suggest as a
precedent to be followed during the existing war. The printed paper
you enclose, besides giving the text of the original additional
articles of October 20, 1868, contains the correspondence had in
1868 and 1869 concerning the interpretation of Articles IX and X of
the said additional convention and thus establishes the precise
nature of the understanding to which France and the North German
States respectively acceded.
As so expressed, the Government of the United States finds no
difficulty in acceding to the suggestion of the Government of
Switzerland. It had, in fact, anticipated it, so far as concerns its
own conduct of hostilities and its own purpose to observe the humane
dictates of modern civilization in the prosecution of warfare upon
the sea as well as upon land by fitting out and equipping a special
ambulance ship, the "Solace," in conformity with the terms of the
additional convention aforesaid, thus confirming emphatically its
adhesion to the principles of that beneficient arrangement without
regard to the absence of its formal ratification by the various
signatories.
I am happy, therefore, to advise you, and through you the Government
of the Swiss Confederation, that the Government of the United States
will for its part, and so long as the present war between this
country and Spain shall last, treat as an effective _modus vivendi_
the fourteen additional articles of October 20, 1868, with the
interpretations of the ninth and tenth articles thereof appearing in
the publication you communicate to me. While it is proper to adopt
this course on its own account, and without reference to such action
as Spain may take, this government would nevertheless be glad to
hear that the representations made by your government to that of
Spain had met with a favorable response in order that the two
parties to the present contest may stand pledged to the same humane
and enlightened conduct of naval operations as respects the sick and
wounded as was recognized and adopted by the respective parties to
the Franco-Prussian war.
Should the Government of Spain likewise accede to the Swiss
proposition, I should be much gratified to be apprised of the fact,
and also that the Spanish accession contemplates acceptance of the
interpretations of Articles IX and X which were adopted by France
and the North German States and which are embraced in the
proposition of your government.
Accept, etc.,
WILLIAM R. DAY.
SWISS LEGATION,
WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 9, 1898_.
MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: As I had the honor verbally to inform the
Assistant Secretary of State this morning, my Government has charged
me to bring to the knowledge of Your Excellency that the Spanish
Government has accepted the proposition of the Federal Council
concerning the additional articles of the Geneva Convention.
I doubt not that Your Excellency will be pleased very soon to enable
me to announce to the Federal Council that the Government of the
Union also adheres for its part to the proposed _modus vivendi_, and
in this expectation I offer to Your Excellency the expression of my
very high consideration.
J.B. PIODA.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, _May 10, 1898_.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of May
9, formally notifying me that the Spanish Government has accepted
the proposition of the Federal Council concerning the additional
articles of the Geneva Convention, and expressing the hope that you
would be soon enabled to inform your government that the United
States Government adheres for its part to the proposed _modus
vivendi_.
As you were advised in the verbal interview with the Second
Assistant Secretary of State, to which you refer in your note of the
ninth, I have already had the pleasure of informing you, by my
official note of that date, that the United States Government would
for its part treat as an effective _modus vivendi_ the additional
articles of 1868, with the amendments and interpretations of
Articles IX and X thereof appearing in the publication communicated
to me by you. I trust that that note, which apparently had not
reached your hands at the time of your note to me of the same date,
has now been received by you and its contents transmitted to the
Federal Council.
Be pleased to accept, etc.,
WILLIAM R. DAY.
The additional articles concerning the Maritime Hospital Service in war,
as modified by the _modus vivendi_, forming Articles VI to XV of the
Treaty of Geneva when formally ratified, are:
ART. VI. The boats which, at their own risk and peril, during and
after an engagement pick up the shipwrecked or wounded, or which,
having picked them up, convey them on board a neutral or hospital
ship, shall enjoy, until the accomplishment of their mission, the
character of neutrality, as far as the circumstances of the
engagement and the position of the ships engaged will permit.
The appreciation of these circumstances is entrusted to the humanity
of all the combatants. The wrecked and wounded thus picked up and
saved must not serve again during the continuance of the war.
ART. VII. The religious, medical and hospital staff of any captured
vessel are declared neutral, and, on leaving the ship, may remove
the articles and surgical instruments which are their private
property.
ART. VIII. The staff designated in the preceding article must
continue to fulfill their functions in the captured ship, assisting
in the removal of the wounded made by the victorious party; they
will then be at liberty to return to their country, in conformity
with the second paragraph of the first additional article.[C]
The stipulations of the second additional article[D] are applicable
to the pay and allowance of the staff.
ART. IX. The military hospital ships remain under martial law in all
that concerns their stores; they become the property of the captor,
but the latter must not divert them from their special appropriation
during the continuance of the war.
[The vessels not equipped for fighting, which during peace, the
government shall have officially declared to be intended to serve as
floating hospital ships, shall however, enjoy during the war
complete neutrality, both as regards stores, and also as regards
their staff, provided their equipment is exclusively appropriated to
the special service on which they are employed.]
ART. X. Any merchantman, to whatever nation she may belong, charged
exclusively with removal of sick and wounded, is protected by
neutrality, but the mere fact, noted on the ship's books, of the
vessel having been visited by an enemy's cruiser, renders the sick
and wounded incapable of serving during the continuance of the war.
The cruiser shall even have the right of putting on board an officer
in order to accompany the convoy, and thus verify the good faith of
the operation.
If the merchant ship also carries a cargo, her neutrality will still
protect it, provided that such cargo is not of a nature to be
confiscated by the belligerent.
The belligerents retain the right to interdict neutralized vessels
from all communication, and from any course which they might deem
prejudicial to the secrecy of their operations. In urgent cases
special conventions may be entered into between commanders in chief,
in order to neutralize temporarily and in a special manner the
vessels intended for the removal of the sick and wounded.
ART. XI. Wounded or sick sailors and soldiers, when embarked, to
whatever nation they may belong, shall be protected and taken care
of by their captors.
Their return to their own country is subject to the provisions of
Article VI of the convention and of the additional Article V.[E]
ART. XII. The distinctive flag to be used with the national flag, in
order to indicate any vessel or boat which may claim the benefits of
neutrality, in virtue of the principles of this convention, is a
white flag with a red cross. The belligerents may exercise in this
respect any mode of verification which they may deem necessary.
Military hospital ships shall be distinguished by being painted
white outside with green strake.
ART. XIII. The hospital ships which are equipped at the expense of
the aid societies, recognized by the governments signing this
convention, and which are furnished with a commission emanating from
the sovereign, who shall have given express authority for their
being fitted out, and with a certificate from the proper naval
authority that they have been placed under his control during their
fitting out and on their final departure, and that they were then
appropriated solely to the purpose of their mission, shall be
considered neutral, as well as the whole of their staff. They shall
be recognized and protected by the belligerents.
They shall make themselves known by hoisting together with their
national flag, the white flag with a red cross. The distinctive mark
of their staff, while performing their duties, shall be an armlet of
the same colors. The outer painting of these hospital ships shall be
white, with red strake.
These ships shall bear aid and assistance to the wounded and wrecked
belligerents, without distinction of nationality.
They must take care not to interfere in any way with the movements
of the combatants. During and after the battle they must do their
duty at their own risk and peril.
The belligerents shall have the right of controlling and visiting
them; they will be at liberty to refuse their assistance, to order
them to depart, and to detain them if the exigencies of the case
require such a step.
The wounded and wrecked picked up by these ships cannot be reclaimed
by either of the combatants, and they will be required not to serve
during the continuance of the war.
ART. XIV. In naval wars any strong presumption that either
belligerent takes advantage of the benefits of neutrality, with any
other view than the interest of the sick and wounded, gives to the
other belligerent, until proof to the contrary, the right of
suspending the convention as regards such belligerent.
Should this presumption become a certainty, notice may be given to
such belligerent that the convention is suspended with regard to him
during the whole continuance of the war.
ART. XV. The present act shall be drawn up in a single original
copy, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Swiss
Confederation.
An authentic copy of this act shall be delivered, with an invitation
to adhere to it, to each of the signatory powers of the convention
of the twenty-second of August, 1864, as well as to those that have
successively acceded to it.
In faith whereof, the undersigned commissaries have drawn up the
present project of additional articles and have apposed thereunto
the seals of their arms.
[Done at Geneva, the twentieth day of the month of October, of the
year one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-eight.]
[C] ARTICLE I. The persons designated in Article II of the convention
shall, after the occupation by the enemy, continue to fulfill their
duties, according to their wants, to the sick and wounded in the
ambulance or the hospital which they serve. When they request to
withdraw, the commander of the occupying troops shall fix the time
of departure, which he shall only be allowed to delay for a short
time in case of military necessity.
[D] ART. II. Arrangements will have to be made by the belligerent
powers to insure to the neutralized person fallen into the hands of
the army of the enemy, the entire enjoyment of his salary.
[E] ART. V. In addition to Article VI of the convention, it is
stipulated that, with the reservation of officers whose detention
might be important to the fate of arms and within the limits fixed
by the second paragraph of that article, the wounded fallen into
the hands of the enemy shall be sent back to their country after
they are cured, or sooner if possible, on condition, nevertheless,
of not again bearing arms during the continuance of the war.
The following note shows the special amendment and the interpretation of
certain clauses of the articles, as agreed by the Governments of the
United States and Spain:
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO HARBOR OF HAVANA--PUNTA PARK.]
[Illustration: SECRETARY OF THE NAVY LONG.]
NOTE.
(_a_) The amendment proposed by France is contained in brackets
after Article IX.
(_b_) The interpretation placed upon Article X by England and France
is to the following effect:
The question being raised as to whether under Article X a vessel
might not avail herself of the carrying of sick or wounded to engage
with impunity in traffic otherwise hazardous under the rules of war,
it was agreed that there was no purpose in the articles to modify in
any particular the generally admitted principles concerning the
rights of belligerents; that the performance of such services of
humanity could not be used as a cover either for contraband of war
or for enemy merchandise; and that every boat which or whose cargo
would, under ordinary circumstances, be subject to confiscation, can
not be relieved therefrom by the sole fact of carrying sick and
wounded.
Question being raised as to whether, under Article X an absolute
right was afforded to a blockaded party to freely remove its sick
and wounded from the blockaded town, it was agreed that such removal
or evacuation of sick and wounded was entirely subject to the
consent of the blockading party. It should be permitted for
humanity's sake where the superior exigencies of war may not
intervene to prevent, but the besieging party might refuse
permission entirely.