| OCR Text |
Show j PROTEST TO LONDON f Some modification of the Br tish policy w th regard to contraband and 'cond tonal contraband may be expected as the result of the pi otest wh ch our state department 1 as sent to London On the one hand Great Brita n is eager Lto enforce aa strict a blockade of Ger man) and Austria as poss ble ,while on the other hand neutral powers are j equally interested n transacting busi ness with those countries Great Britain I and France will go to the utmost ex t emo in stopp ng neutral vessels and etercis ng the right of search This policy has been followed up to date and was to have been expected It was to ha e been expected also that neutral Jpowers would chafe under the restraints mpoed by the belligerents and. ulti mately would take some act on to pre vent neutral commerce from unneees tary interference Great Brita n has been able to im pose an excess vely r gorous policy be cguse of the uncerta nty existing under international law with regard to con d t onal contraband She has treated condit onal contraband as if it were absolute contraband Our state depart ment now demands a regulation which if adopte 1 will v rtually do away with cond tional contraband. The American government a gues that the bell gerent must prove that condit onal contraband is destined for use by the aimy or navy of the enemy It ma nta ns that there should be no interference with food st ffs and produce of the same class cons gned to neutral co ntnes Obvi ously Great Br ta n cannot prove that foodstuffs cons gned to neutral coun tries are dest ned for the enemy and j et the menean go ernment declares that the facts prov ng a host lc dest nation is ntended must be sho vn at the t me of a vessel & se zure S m larly the cons gnment of a cargo to order that s to no spec fie cons gnee in a neutral co ntry is not of itself to be deemed a suspicious circumstance In other words mere susp cion which has been practically the sole ground for in terfere ce bv Great Britain up to date must be el m nated as a sanct on for the seizuro of a neutral vessel xf the Ameri can ontent on obtains Inasmuch as Great Br ta n cannot furnish proofs that foodstuffs are destined for the encn v country foodstuffs will be re no ed from the class of con traband f we ha e our way If Gr at B ta n accedes to our demand the C e mans and Austrians will have reason for congrtulat on because the foodst ffs which are consigned to neu traj countr es such as Italy Denmark Sweden Norway and Holland w 11 find their way eventually info Germany and Vustria The English know this and it is not 1 kely that they will submit to our demands in the r entirety One of our demands is so just that Great Br tain can 6 arcely refuse to grant it & nee the war began English ships not only have exercised the right of search upon the high seas but merely on suspi ion that a cargo was dest ned to the enemy country have seized the neutral ship and taken t into an English rort fo furthe exam roation Carried to its logical conelu g on th s would give the Eng) sh govern ment the right to stop every American sh p on the high seas d vert it from its course take t to an Engl sh harbor and overhaul the cargo at leisure Arner cans r ghtly consider the exercise of such a powe intolerable' Upon this point at least the Wash ngton govern ment should lema n firm because to ac eept the Lngl sh view is to subject Amer can commerce bound fo Europe to conditions that piact cally will drive It from the sea during the war |
