The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-05
AMERICAN ATTITUDE IN
 SEIZURE OF FOODSFUFFS
ONE IMPORTANT COMPANION
 THAT WILL BE MADE

Government VIII Hold That Food on Neutral ship Is Not Subject to Seizure
 Even in the War Zone Provided it Is
 Not Intended for Use of the Army or
 Navy of BeIIigerent.
 Washington, Aug. 1.-The officials of the state department do not care to pass any opinion upon the legality, from an international standpoint, of the action of the Russian prize court at vladivostok in the case of the Arabic as reported in to-day's press dispatch r until some obscure points in the deci. ion are cleared up. Although the de- pertinent has finally decided that 1t will not promulgate any set of rules which it regards as proper to govern the con- duct of neutral commerce and shipping in belligerent waters or on the high Iseas, it undoubtedly will, in the course of treatment of the separate cases of lseizure of American goods during the progress of the war, sufficiently define the view of the American government on this subject. The Arabia case is likely to develop strongly one import ant contention on the part of this gov Iernment, namely, that foodstuffs on a neutral ship are not subject to seizure even in the war zone, provided they are mot intended for the use of the army or e. f,r rf4t7 posed that the Russian government it. self subscribed fully to this rule, and that is why Washington is waiting to llearn what unknown and qualifying conditions were developed before the
 vladivostok prize court to Justify the Iconfiscation of American flour consign- ed to Japanese individuals and not to the government, nor intended for It's luse
 4 It is felt here tEat the Russian gov Iernment fully understands the distinc-
 ton which is here drawn between in- dividual and national property. Among lthe rules adopted by the Russian gov lernment at the outbreak of the war, lrule 10 defining contrabanD reads
 Tn general. everything intended for lwarfare on land or sea; also rice, food- lstuffs horses, beasts of burded and oth- Ter animals which may be used in time Iof war. when they are transported for N laccount of or ip destination of the ei- lemy
 The enemy" above referred to is here Iregarded as the Japanese government 5I land not some merchant doing business lin Yokohama and supplying American lfiour to the working people of that city, and not receiving 1t in consignment on account of the Japanese army or navy, IThis view was clearly developed during 1.-the Boer war. Counsel for the. Port Hand Milling company were before the department yesterday and insisted that the entire cargo of the vessel was indi- lvidually consigned and consequently Ithat there was not one pound of contra band goods liable to seizure aboard the
 ship.
 There is no disposition here to pursue ithis matter in any heat, for 1t is point led out that our own experience, as late las the Spanish war; was that these
 prize cases are beset with infinite difii- Eculty of adjustment, no two being pre-
 lcisely alike
 i, Therefore, the state department will
 proceed deliberately with the prepara-
 Ition of it's case, trying to avoid raising bany unnecessary side issues and aIli- : mated by the single purpose of securing : ljust that amount of protection for
 American trade with the Far East tc
 which it is entitled under the principles I Iof modern international law.