Los Angeles herald., 1891-07-16
THURSDAY. JULY 1s. 1891
The HERALD AT THE BEACH.
A POLICY HURTFUL TO AMERICAN
COMMERCE.

n EVLAO1 ~ AmEhAOAN
COMMERCE.
During the past month over a million
dollars worth of provisions have been
sent from San Francisco to the insur-
gents at Iquique, Chile. These supplies
have been shipped upon British steam
ships, notwithstanding there are idle
American steamers on the coast. whose
owners would be glad to do this carry
ing business. But British bottoms are
chartered by the shippers in preference
to American vessels, because there is no
danger Of any neutrality entanglements
about goods shipped to Chile on English
vessels, whilst no one is certain what
kind of orders might come out from
Washington if the goods were shipped
by American vessels.
The Balmaceda government seems to
have very powerful pull with Harrison
and his cabinet, and it would be no
trick at all for the Chilean minister at
Washington to make the United States
attorney-general believe that for our
country to send provisions to the in
surgents would be to violate its neutral
ity. In support of this claim it might
be shown that famine prices prevailed
at Iquique, and the revolution would
have had to come to an end for want of
food supplies, had not stores been sent
from San Francisco. Therefore, for the
government to permit the shipment of
food supplies was actually to take sides
with the insurgents.
OF course the government of Great
Britain would stand no such nonsense,
and therefore preference is given to her
vessels. It is difficult to say what might
not be expected from Harrison's attor-
ney general, who made supreme ass of
himself in the United States supreme
court in the Pritchard seal-poaching
case, and showed that he knew as much
about admiralty law as an average Tombs
shyster does about the Justinian PAN
dects. It is more than likely that he
would decide that to furnish provisions
to starving army would be to enable
that army to protract the war, and
hence to do so would not be OBJ
serving a strict neutrality between
the two belligerents. His logic would
certainly be right; but in it's
application it must be remembered
there are other rights to be considered.
The rights of commercial intercourse do
not cease on account of rebellion. Free
ships can carry contraband goods even
into embargoed ports if they wish to.
They, of course, run the risk of being
taken by the enemy, and that is their
own lookout. But under the law there
is no embargo upon shipping supplies
from a neutral port to belligerent port.
The same rule applies to the shipment
of arms, and all this administration
monkeying about the Itata and the arms
that were placed on board of her is ridic-
ulous in the light of the reasonable con-
struction which the best jurists place
upon the principles governing neutrality.
Arms are an article OF commerce,
and American manufacturers have
the right to sell them wherever
they can find customers. If they sell
them to revolutionists in South America
or any other country they can do so, and
deliver them if they can. 1t is the
business of the government that is try
ing to put down a revolution to prevent
the arms from reaching their destina-
tion but it is not the business of the
government whose people manufacture
arms as an article of commerce to place
an embargo on their expectation. All
during the United States rebellion the
British sent blockade runners to the
south filled with all sorts of arms and
other contraband goods. 1t was the
duty of the blockade squadron to keep
these vessels out or capture them, but it
was no part of the duty of the British
government to prevent them from leav-
ing English ports and making the effort
to run the blockade.
The treaty of Washington has in no
wise modified this principle of law,
which is based upon the great principle,
30 dear and SO important to commercial
nations, of free trade. !, Indeed, our dis
tinguished United States attorney-gen-
eral would be just as much justified in
reason and in legal Interpretation in
seizing any American ship that should
attempt TO leave our ports with pro-
visions and other ordinary supplies for
the insurgents as to seize q vessel that
was loaded with small arms. Both car
goes are equally helpful to the insur-
gents in their fight against the recog-
nized government, and therefore contra
band of war.
Let US be candid. 1t may really
not be fact that there would be any
serious danger that the administration
would order the seizure of an American
'essel if she were chartered to take gen.