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Show GERMAN WAR TRUST. Dr. Dumba informed his imperial government that President Wilson '$ chief reason for upholding the sale of ammunition to the allies was grounded in the fact that the United States, in the case of war, would be compelled to buy ammunition abroad. The president did not wish to establish a precedent which would handicap the United States if it ever needed munitions from other countries. In this connection it is interesting to note some private information which Colonel Roosevelt obtained from a manufacturer of ammunition in this country. In the October Metropolitan magazine the former president writes: "A representative bf a great American Ameri-can arms manufactory informed me recently re-cently that they had been about to abandon their work prior to the be-I be-I ginning of this war, because the Ger-j Ger-j mans systematically endeavored to undersell un-dersell them iu every country. Tt has been the settled policy ot Lrermany to drive all other countries ont of the business of manufacturing arms -and supplies, because, of course, if this were once substantially accomplished, the rest of the world would be completely com-pletely helpless before Germany; and Germany has made it evident that she knows no such things as international morality and looks upon all other nations, na-tions, including the United States, merely mere-ly as possible prey." It will be seen that, if Mr. Roosevelt 's information is correct, the president's position is well taken. Germany, it is charged, sought to monopolize the gun and ammunition business so that when war came the Toutonic powers would have adequate factories, while the enemy would be crippled by a lack of factories. That was precisely the situation at the outbreak of the war. Germany had all the munitions factories she needed, while her foes were ill supplied and now, a year later, are compelled to depend upon the United States for a part of their guns aud shells. |