Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-18
SELLING TO BELLIGERENTS.
"A Story of Secretary Seward During
the Macmillan Affair.

'One night / was sitting in Secretary
Stewards library with him before the open
CRATE fire." said veteran congressman
who is interested in diplomatic affairs
Secretary Seward was very much per-
picked and worried and as he rubbed his
hands on his knees, gazing in the glowing
Goals, he said: L don't want to do it, but
I will have to do 1t; there Is nothing else
for 1t. The precedents are unvarying.'
THE question was the old, old problem
Of selling munitions of war to belligerents,
branch Of the same question that now
seems to be coming up over the Port Chal-
mette affair. I foresee the same outcome
in this case, too.
''The circumstances were these: Maxi
milan, with a French army, was outraging
the Monroe doctrine, endeavoring to set up
an empire in Mexico! lJuarez the president
of the struggling republic of Mexico, was
lodging about the mountains carrying his
young republic under his hat, but forever
maintaining 1t was a republic and as such
worthy of recognition by US. His minister
was in Washington dear old Mr. Romero,
whom we all remember Only a few of us
know the difficulties which attended his
mission and the manner of aid extended to
him.
"The French were openly buying arms,
ammunition and supplies ia New York city
to fight the republic of Mexico and to aid
in establishing the empire on our borders.
Minister Romero protested against our SELL
ing the arms to a beiligerent. We GER
tainly sympathiZed with Romero and his
cause, but as Secretary Seward remarked
on the night which l mention. the prece-
dents were all one way, and the State De-
partment had to decide that it could not
prohibit the sale of arms to the Frenchmen.
1T was Thomas jefferson who first es-
tablished this precedent. He was Secretary
time The French and English were fight
ing each other and the English complained
that we were permitting the French to pur
chase munitions of war. They protested
vigorously, demanding that this government
put a stop to the traffic
Thomas Jefferson, in denying their re-
quest, laid down this principle of interna-
tional procedure, which has been law ever
since:
"'American citizens have always been
free to make, vend and export arms. 1t is
the constant occupation and livelihood of
some Of them. To suppress their calling,
the only means perhaps of their subsist-
ence, because war exists in foreign and
distant countries. in which we have no
concern. would scarcely be expected 1t
would be hard in principle and impossible
in practice. The laws of nations, there
fore, respecting the rights Of those at peace
do not require from them such an internal
arrangement in their occupations. 1t is
satisfied with the external penalty pro-
nounced in the Presidents proclamation.
that Of confiscation Of such portion of
those arms as shall fall into the hands Of
the belligerent powers on their way to the
ports of their enemies. To this penalty our
citizens are warned that they will be aban-
doned
The dictum which Thomas Jefferson
thus laid down was used against us later.
During the civil war we complained that
the confederates were being sold arms and
ammunition by British subjects in Ber-
muda. claim was brought against Great
Britain and submitted to the Geneva arbi
tration In 1872 The British commissioners
the Americans, and that portion of our
claims immediately went out.
IF we can sell guns and ammunition to a
belligerent / do not see how our southern
selling mules and hay to the British for
their use in South Africa