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Show uu NEUTRALITY IS NOTJMTED Philadelphia, April 23 Neutrality was defined as something that was not at all morally exalted, but exceedingly ex-ceedingly practical, by Frederick Rene Coudert of Xew York an authority author-ity on international law. who delivered the annual address to members of the law academy of Philadelphia here last niht In discussing the legal aspects of the subject he said: "The cardinal distinction to he ob served is that between the action of the government and that of the individual, indi-vidual, and between the law which is enforced by the neutral state against its own members and the law which is enforced by the belligerents themselves them-selves as acainst the subjects of neutral neu-tral states " Mr Cudert declared that while a neutral government was bound to abstain ab-stain from taking part In the war or permitting its territory to be used as a base for military operations, commercial com-mercial transactions of the individual should be unaffected and continued as before the war, subject, however, to the right of the belligerent to prevent such trade if It be contraband or if it be in violation of a legitimately constituted blockade. Under the category of contraband, he said, have been held, generally, articles ar-ticles which have been of military use to the enemy "From as early 3 time as that of Crotlus " the speaker added", "it has been recognized that there were many articles capaoie or a uounie use. tnat Is, an innocent use or a warlike use, depending on whether they were used by the civilian or the military population popu-lation ' Recognition of this, he said brought about the category of conditional condi-tional contraband goods. |