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Show fAFT IS IN FAVOR OF SELLING ARMS New Haven. Conn.. Feb. 9 William Howard Taft today made public a letter let-ter he wrote on January 26 to Professor Pro-fessor Edmond von Moch of Harvard university, in which the former president presi-dent opposes the enactment of a law forbidding the supply of munitions of war from this country to the belligerent bel-ligerent nations. The letter was in answer to a request from Professor von Mach, asking Mr. Taft to write a letter, to be read at a "neutrality meeting," favoring passage of tho bill introduced by Senator Hitchcock Hitch-cock providing for such interdiction The letter, which was not read at the meeting, Mr Taft says, follows "My dear Professor von Mach I have yours of January 24. I cannot write to a neutrality meeting such a letter as you would wish. I think that to interdict the supply of ammunition am-munition and arms from this country' coun-try' to the belligerents in the war would be to adopt a policy that would seriously Interfere with our own welfare, wel-fare, should we ever be drawn Into a war against our will by the unjust Invasion of some power who was fully prepared and who would always find us unprepared. Such a policy as that you lndcate would mean that the power who Is armed cap-a-pie would always have at a disadvantage those countries that were not In Buch a state of preparation. It would therefore lead to even greater pressure pres-sure upon all the countries of the world than we have seen in the last two decades, to increase their armaments, arma-ments, a result which we would all deplore For this reason, I cannot think that it would be wise to pass a law changing all the rules of International In-ternational laws heretofore prevailing with respect to sale of ammunition and arms to belligerents by neutral countries. Nor do I think that In the present exigency It would be an act of neutrality, because It would Inure only to the benefit of one of, the belligerents. "Sincerely yours, "WILLIAM H. TAFT " oo |