Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1914-09-17
-a-asAl 81 --..ess.
MAY SEND'OVER
CONTRABAND #
WISH To Do So
Americans Have Right to Ship
Anything to Europe, but Must
Take Risk of Capture.
WASHINGTON WON'T GIVE AID
ENJOYS Of Warning Nations, L'ke
Many Other Persons, Seem to Mis-
take tho Meaning Of Neutrality
and Mako Thouohtless
Charges.
Nv EDWARD q. CLARK.

BY EDWARD q. CLARK.
Washington.-Onea after another inc
ambassadors representing foreign gov
ernments now at war call upon the
president of the United States. 1t Is
said they are extraordinarily restrained
in their conversations at the Wnlte
House, being as careful as II they were
American citizens to obey Mr. Will
sons injunction not to say things
which might stir up trouble or excite
animosities.
Some of the off Gals in Washington
apparently wish that the ambassadors
from the warning countries would TAX
as restrainedly in public as they 90
In the privacy Of the executive man
sion. There Is actual fear expressed
that some ambassador In his PUBIC
speech will overstep the bounds OF dip
lomatic propriety and say something
which may force the United states
to ask his government to call him
back home. This sort Of thing mas
happened several times In American
history
The trouble with the ambassadors
is that they read things IN the dis
patches which crate on their nerves
and they proceed to talk. One ambas-
sador the other day came pretty near
making an open declaration that the
United States as government was
violating its proclamation OF neutral
ity.
ThouahtIess II No Worse.
Here Is where the trouble comes
IN. Ambassadors, like good many
other people, seem to take 1t for
granted that the act Of private Amer.
lean citizen Is the act Of the govern
ment. It was one of the foreign rep
resentatives who told newspaper
man the other day that arms and am
munition were being shipped from the
United States to one Of the belligerent
countries. Now, he did not say d.
rectly the United States was doing
it. nor did he say that the act was
q violation Of neutrality, but the intent
was a complaint, and persons who DO
not understand what private citizens
OF a neutral power can do and what
they cannot do, instantly took 1t for
granted that this government was
winking at the giving Of open aid and
comfort to one country to the dis
advantage Of another country. Wash
ington officials. like other men, seem
ingly think that the intention was to
create this impression and that 1t was
a thoughtless thing 70 do. II nothing
worse.
From the inquiries which come into
Washington constantly there seems to
be widespread misunderstanding OF
what American citizens and what
American firms can do In the way OF
shipping goods to belligerents Ia
king a case In point, one United States
senator received inquiries from sew.
eral business corporations in his state.
saying they had orders for goods to
be shipped to belligerent but they
were afraid II they shipped them they
would be violating the neutrality OF
the United States.
The senator In answering the In
ouiries told the inQuirers to ship any
thing that they wanted to and to put
the risk on the purchasers. He told
them there would be no violation of
the neutrality of the United States.
even II they shipped guns. cartridges
and dynamite. He was right.
Must Run Risk Of Capture.
All that neutral does Ia to declare
that any goods shipped by its people
which are contra band Of war are
liable to seizure by the ships Of the
country or countries with which the
nation ordering the goods is at war
The United States government Will
not protect such shipments and neith-
or will 1t forbid them. or course. 1t
will not ship anything under Its own
sanction Firms who ship contraband
of war must run the risk Of capture
unless they can turn the risk over to
which means simply that the forward.
ing firms will see to 1t that payment
is received in advance. In this case
after the contraband leaves American
ports, 1t Is at the risk of the pur-
chaser.
During the war between the states
the southern ports we're blockaded and
notice OF the blockade was given to all
foreign powers. Individual firms
abroad sent all kinds OF contraband Of
war to the southern states and ran
the risk Of capture. The United
1hJ 70 NH I'D
yidual firms did. 1t could object how.
over. when q foreign nation attempted
on Its own account as government
to extend aid to the Confederacy The
fitting out OF the cruiser Alabama in
a British port Is case In point.
No Recourse for Shippers.
So to sum up the situation. as Wash
ington understands 1t. Americans can
ship guns or anything else they
choose to Germany. Russia. France or
England. but they will have no ~
course If the carrying ships are
stopped and the goods taken on the
high seas.
The government OF the United
States sees to 1t that no armed men
leave these ports to help any of the
belligerents, that no armed ships are
sent out for like purpose and that
no aid of any kind by officers Of the
United States government is extended
TO any of the belligerents. Business
corporations can ship what they want
to, and II they can get the cargo into
port, well and good. and If they can
not thsrs Ia no use to spDsal To the