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Show WILL NOT CONSIDER RIGHTSHUTRAL EFFORT8 OF AMERICANS TO RAISE EMBARGO Ofi FOOD PROVES A FAILURE. Government Had Asked That Radius of Activity be Defined and That Attacks on Merchant Ships be Abandoned. Washington. Six diplomatic notos woro mado public Wednesday night by tho stato department, constituting tho entlro corrcspondonco of tho last fow weeks botweon tho United States and Germany and botwoen tho United States and Great Britain and France, rolatlvo to tho abandonment of submarine sub-marine attacks on merchant ships, tho shlpmont of conditional contraband and foodstuffs to civilians in a bolllg-orent bolllg-orent country, tho uso of neutral flagB by belligerent merchantmen, tho ro-moval ro-moval of mines and tho proclamation of a virtual blockade by tho allies against Germany. Tho communications rovealed that tho United Statos government, realizing realiz-ing the difficulties of maintaining an effective blockado by a close guard of an cnomy coast on account of tho newly new-ly developed activity of submarines, asked that "a radius of activity" be defined. Great Britain and France replied re-plied with tho announcement that the operations of tho blockado would not bo conducted outsldo of European waters, including tho Mediterranean. While Gormany agreed, It Is disclosed, dis-closed, to abandon her submarlno attacks at-tacks on "mercantile of any flag" except ex-cept when thoy resist visit or search provided foodstuffs wero permitted to reach her civilian population, Great Britain and hor allies rejected tho proposal, pro-posal, originally mado by the United Statos govornment, In an effort to bring tho belligerents Into an arrangement arrange-ment which would safeguard tho Interests In-terests of the neutrals. Furthermore the documents show that In a mossago of inquiry to Great Britain and Franco it was asked whethor tho ombargo on all commorco between Germany and neutral coun-trios coun-trios wub to bo carried out undor tho rules of a blockado, or by lntorferenco with BhlpB and cargoes "as If no blockado block-ado existed." The two together presented, pre-sented, in tho view of tho American government, "a proposed course of action previously unknown to International Interna-tional law." Tho answors from both Great Britain Brit-ain and Franco reveal for tho first tlmo that tho allies officially regard their policy as a "blockade," but deslro to refrain from oxorcUlng tho lights of belligerents under a blockado to coufl8cuto ships and cargoes as a penalty pen-alty for breach of blockado, substituting substitut-ing for It procedure In prize courts and compensation through sale of tho detained merchandise. Tho definition of a "radius of activity" activ-ity" for tho nlllod fleet in European waters, including the Mediterranean, is tho first Intimation of tho geographical geograph-ical limits or tho blockado. Its limits wero not given moro exactly, tho nlllos claim, becauso Germany was equally Indefinite in proclaiming all tho waters surrounding Grout Britain and Ireland a "war zono." |