ALCOAST 193/17 - JUN 2017 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT

R 150700 JUN 17
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-092//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N05700//
ALCOAST 193/17
COMDTNOTE 5700
SUBJ:  100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT
1. June 15th, 2017, marks the 100th anniversary of passage of the Espionage Act.
2. The Espionage Act of 1917 came about as a direct result of the country’s
war effort in World War I, and it has greatly increased the importance of the
role of the Coast Guard in safeguarding our ports over the past 100 years.
3. In World War I, port security became a matter of national security. At no
time in prior history had the prospect of massive destruction from explosives
and ammunition been so grave. This was born out by an explosion that took
place on Black Tom Island, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from
Manhattan, on July 31st, 1916. The munitions terminal on the island was a
primary staging area for ordnance shipped to the war in Europe. It is
believed the blast erupted from a barge loaded with ammunition and may have
been caused by saboteurs. The explosion blew out windows in buildings as far
away as New York City and caused $500 million (in 2017 dollars) in property
damage. The disaster also focused public attention on the dangers of
stockpiling, loading and shipping explosives near major population centers.
4. In addition to focusing attention on the dangers posed to port cities, the
Black Tom incident motivated Congress to enact legislation to protect port
facilities from sabotage. On June 15th, 1917, Congress passed the Espionage
Act, which shifted responsibility for safety and movement of vessels in U.S.
harbors from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Treasury Department. The
Espionage Act of 1917 greatly enhanced the Coast Guard’s ability to carry out
port security and to protect ports from sabotage and accidental detonation of
explosive cargoes.
5. In 1917, the Treasury Secretary assigned Coast Guard officers to oversee
port security in the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Hampton Roads and Sault
Ste. Marie. The power of these officers was most evident in the port of New
York.  During the war, New York embarked more weapons and war material than
any other U.S. port. In the span of a year-and-a-half, New York loaded nearly
1,700 ships with more than 345 million tons of shells, smokeless powder,
dynamite, ammunition and other explosives. To ensure the harbor’s safety,
Captain Godfrey Carden commanded the Coast Guard’s New York Division, which
included nearly 1,500 officers and men, four tugs borrowed from the Navy and
the Army, and five harbor cutters. In all, his division was the Service’s
largest wartime command. Carden became possibly the most famous Coast Guard
officer of World War I and the term “captain-of-the-port” came about to
describe his role as the man in charge of New York’s port security.
6. While World War I brought greater attention to the need for port security,
the Act was also invoked in World War II when the nation shipped millions of
tons of weapons and ammunition from U.S. ports to the front lines. It also
supported Coast Guard port operations during the Korean Conflict, Vietnam
War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm and more recently, in the War on Terror.
7. Over the next seventeen months, the Coast Guard will commemorate the
Service’s vital role in World War I through publications, monthly stories on
Coast Guard Compass, the five-part history video series “The Fighting Coast
Guard” and an extensive World War I web page on the Coast Guard Historian’s
website located at “www.uscg.mil/history/ops/wars/WWI/WWI-Index.asp”.
8. Ms. Ellen Engleman Conners, Acting Director of Governmental and Public
Affairs, sends.
9. Internet release authorized.