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Show COM HELD TO BE CONTRABAND Washington, Aug. 16. The Allies' intention to declare cotton contraband contra-band has been communicated unofficially unoffi-cially but authoritatively, to the state department. Tho department's advices ad-vices are that the decision has been reached and the delay ip making an announcement is due to tho necessity of arranging uniform treatment of the subject by all the allies. The stop has been agreed by Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Belgium but Japan's attitude has not been defined and she may decide that no action '-is called for from her at this time, because of the elimination of the only German colony In the far .east from the military problem, and tho absence of any reason for a blockade. Ever since the application of the British orders-in-councll to cotton among other American products, the entente allies have felt that some more effective and less burdensome method must be found for dealing with cotton and preventing its entry Into Germany and Austria. The allies conterid that American cotton shippers ship-pers in more casW alleged to be backed by German capital, have been shipping cotton to Germany through Jieutral ports. Under tho orders-In-councll such a cargo If captured was merely taken Into a British port and paid for 'by the British government. The allies contend that under those conditions a great deal o.f the cotton got through Sweden. Denmark and Holland Into Germany. From, tho allies al-lies point of view, the orclers-ln-coun-cll were Ineffective because thev obliged the British government to buy cotton and at the 5ame time offered an incentive to hjockado runners wn0ISnE '? tbe advices reach'ing 2shSft PBBrfre In England, Tht SSJ,e ha8 comelled a change. Tbe British government originally re- SorelL011! af antmWand wted a desIre to avW infllctlns nardahlp upon the southern planters SirtVS V!d "elopmontf S anti-British anti-British feeling in this countrv Tho ?Hhang l,u contraband Avlll be defend n8 a,u,rIzed laternatlonanaw. Great .Britain protested against the t American blockado of outgoing cotton from the south during the civil war and" had refused to recognize It as contraband during the Ilusao-Japan-ese war but will now contend that radical rad-ical changes In the conditions of warfare war-fare since that time justify a change of attitude. The entente powers, according ac-cording to advices here, report that the state department will resist making mak-ing cotton contraband and aro pro-paring pro-paring to base their action on American Ameri-can precedents. Tho advices reaching hero Indlcato they intend to argue that both Presidents Lincoln and Johnson In formal proclamations Issued Is-sued in April, May and June, In 18G5, went on record as maintaining as contraband of war "materials for tho fabrication of ammunition." That cotton has taken the placo of saltpetre, salt-petre, always recognized as absolute contraband, in tho manufacture of gunpowder, will bo held to bo an established es-tablished fact and by way of convincing, convinc-ing, tho state department to that effect ef-fect attention probably will be directed di-rected to a letter by Secretary Hay to'W. W. Rockhill, American minister minis-ter to China, during tho Russo-Japanese war. nn,' |