Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-11-06
Americans Have Right to Ship
Anything to Europe, but Must
Take Risk Of Capture.
WASHINGTON WON'T GIVE AID
Enveys &of Warning Nations, t1Liks
Many Other Persons, seem:to Mis-
take the Meaning Of Neutrality
and Make Thoughtiess
Charges.
RysEpwARD 3. CLARK.

ambassadors representing foreign gov
ernments now at war icall upon the
president Of the United States. 1t liz
said they are extraordinarily restrained
in their conversations at the White
House, being as careful as il they wers
American citizens to obey MI. VII
sons injunction not to say things
which might stir up trouble or excite
animosities.
Some Of the Off cials in Washington
apparently wishsthat the ambassadors
from the warning countries would talk
as res~trainedly in public as they dc
in the privacy OF the executive man
sion. There is actual fear expressed
that some ambassador in his public
speech will overstep the bounds Of dip
lomatics propriety and say something
which may force the United States
to ask his government to call him
back home. This sort Of thing has
happened several times in American
history.
The trouble with the ambassadors
ia 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 a government was
violating its proclamation Of neutral
ity.
ThouehtIess II No Worse.
Here is where the trouble, comes
In. Ambassadors, like a good many
other people, eel to take it for
granted that the act of a private Amer.
lean citizen is the act of the govern.
ment. 1t was one of the foreign rep
resentatives who told a 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 = complaint, and persons who do
not understand what private citizens
of q neutral power can do and what
they cannot do, instantly took it for
granted that this government was
winking at the giving of open aid and
comfort to M 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 it was
a thoughtless thing to do, if nothing
worse. ~.
From the inquiries which come into
Washington constantly there seems to
be a 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, M United States
senator received inquiries from sew.
eral business corporations in his state,
saying they had orders for goods to
be shipped to a belligerent, but they
we're afraid if they shipped them they
would be violating the neutrality Of
the United States. y &vyrs
The senator. in answering the in.
quiries 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.
wen II they shipped guns, cartridges
and dynamite. He was right.
Must Run Risk Of Capture.
All ,thatga neutral does is to declare
that any goods shipped by its people
which are contraband Of war are
liable to seizure by the ships of tho
country or countries with which tho
nation ordering the goods is at war.
The United States government will
not protect such shipments and neith.
er will it forbid them. OF course, it
will not ship anything under it's uwn
sanction. Firms who ship contraband
Of war must run the risk of capture
unless they can turn the riaks over to
the nation which orders the goods,
which means simply that the forward
ing Arms will see to, it that payment
Is received in advance. In this case
after the contrahand leaves American,
ports, it is At the risk Of the pur-
chaser. sses 2 ~ ~ ~ -
During the var 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. Thee United
States could not object to what fndi-
vidual firms did. It could object, how
ever, when a foreign nation attempted
on itsspHn account sasa4A government
tosextena aid toeths C~eafederacy The
1ttint out Of tho crltssr Alabama IL
. British port lisa scase in point
A NoslReceufDe fortafshIppess.P
so to sun, up tie situation. - Wash.
s,gton understands II, Americans oan
sAooss to Germany. Ruasia, Francs u
MlAA. kA stAak-A shNe-A -