Show DUTCH DUICH WILL Us U. S. S SHIPS UNLESS WAR AR IS DECLARED Believes Government Govern ment Will Yield Weakly to British Pressure By Associated Press THE HAGUE March l 17 Via London Lon Lon- don March 20 20 Government off om- om daIs dab are hard at work on the thorny problem of or the admission of ot armed merchantmen to Dutch ports but no m official official statement statement- as to Hollands Holland's at at- was obtainable today It is IB un that so far there is no di dl from the standpoint laid laic down clown in the tho neutrality of August 1914 1 by ly which all nIl bellie erent warships or their equivalents equivalent are aro barred from front Dutch ports This position was further amplified in an at orange book of October 1915 1916 in which it was held that the tho merchantmen armed arnel defensively are capable of per forming acts of ot war and therefore there are within the barred category American armed merchantmen a as well as American warships would b be bc freel freely admitted to Dutch ports n a long as a n state of ot war did not exist between the United States and Get many In the tho event of d de dared the attitude of or the Dutch gOY gov la is still problematical Th Continued d on pa page e 6 6 DUTCH WILL ADMIT Continued from page 2 Nieuwe Rotterdam Courant recalling the British steamer the test case of i Princess Melita which was vms not permitted per per- mUted to enter the tho Hook of Holland I until it had Jettisoned its armament I expects the Dutch government will unI undoubtedly un un- I ly maintain its attitude on onI tho the ground r und that any change therein I would Imp impair ir time the strict neutrality I hitherto observed There can be no bargaining in this respect says tho the thoI I paper The Tine strength th of the Dutch I policy Y of neutrality lies largely in tho the fact that It was laid down earl early In August 1914 even before England entered the war and was proclaimed In a spirit of the strictest impartiality impartial impartial- it ity before military operations were begun begun be be- gun gun gunThe Tho The Amsterdam on the line theother theother I other hand is equally confident that the government will ultimately yield to British pressure in a matter In I which It ou ought ht to have taken the ini ini- This organ attacks the tho government on I what it terms Its lukewarm and ineffective iner- iner protests against German frightfulness frightfulness fright- fright I at sea and warns the ministry minis minis- I 1 tr try that the facilities granted by I England to grain ships will be perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps her last concession I II Professor a state councilor coun conn- and one ono of Hollands Holland's leading authorities authorities authorities au au- au- au I on international law argues in a newspaper article that neutral states on the ground round of sovereign I rights are entitled to admit or exclude exclude ex ex- clu clude e defensively armed merchantmen merchant merchant- men It being not a question of law but of policy Professor disagrees with the governments government's interpretation interpretation in in- that defensive armament I enables a ship to perform acts of oC war I inasmuch as even unarmed merchantmen merchantmen merchant merchant- men men are capable of oC such acts It Itcan Itcan Itcan can never be le the duty says Bays Professor ProCessor sor of or a neutral nation to lo re regard ar as tho the orange book puts it defensively armed merchantmen as war men |