The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-16
U.S., IN NOTE TO AUSTRIA, INSISTS
 ON RIGHT TO SELL ARMS TO ALLIES:
Text of Note to Austria-Hungary


 Following is the text of the United States note to Austria relative to the sale and exportation of arms and ann munition:
 The Secretary of State to Ambassa-
 dor Penffeld,
 Department of State, Washington, Aug. 12, 1915.
 Please present note to the Royal Foreign. Office in reply to it's note of June 29 in the. following sense:-
 The govern1nent of the United States has. given careful consideration to the statement of the imperial and Eroya1 government in regard to the ex- portations of arms and ammunition from the United States to the coun- tries at war with Austria-Hungary and Germany. The government of She United States notes with sa.tisfac- ton the recognition by the imperial and royal government of the undoubt- ed fact that its attitude with regard to the exportation of arms and ann munftfon from the United States is prompted by it's intention to main tain the strictest neutrality and con- form to the letter with the proV1s1ons Of international treaties, but is sur prised to find the imperial and royal Government implying that the observ- lance of the strict principles of the law under the conditions which have de- lveIoped in the present war is insuffi- cient, and asserting that this govern ment should go beyond the long re co gnized rules governing such traffic by nelttra1s and adopt measures to maintain an attitude of strict parity with respect to both belligerent par sties..s'
 To this assertion of an obligation to lchange or modify the rules of inter national usage on account of special conditions the government of the United States cannot. accede. The recognition Of an obligation of this sort unknown to the internauo uonal practice of the past, would impose upon every neutral nation duty to sit in Judgment on the progress of a war and to restrict its cdEnmercial in- tercourse with fBel1igerent whose naval successes prevented the neu- tr-aI from trade with the enemy. The contention of the imperial and royal goyeTnment appears to be that fh g advantages gained to a belligerents by it's superiority on the sea should be eauaIized by the neutral powers by Ethe sesta blishnaents of a, system of nom intercourse with the victor. The inn periaI and royal government confines it's comments sto arms and arr1rnunl- tion,s but if the principle. for which Fit contends is sound it should apply witt equal force to all articles of con fraband be1Iigerent controlling the high seas might possess an am pIe supply of arms and ammunition. but be in want of food and clothing. On the novel principle that equaliza- tion4is a neutral duty neutral nations W o51fd be obliged, to place an en1- sbargo on such articles because one of the belligereTts could not obtain them through commercial intercourse.
 sProduce Economic Confusion''
 But if this principle. so strongly urged by the Imperial and royal gov erfl lInent should be admitted to ob- tain by reason of the superiority Of a beHigerent at sea ought it not to oper- ate equally as to a, belligerent super for on land 2 Applying this theory of EeefuaHzation, a beIHgerent who lacks 1.-the necessary munitions. to contend Esuccessfully on land ought to be per tsrrsitt d to purchaseA from neutraIs, VI hi1e a bell1gerent with an abundance Eof war stores or with the power to produce them should be debarred from such traffic.
 Manifestly the idea of strict neu- sIfty now advanced by the imperial and royal govern ent sSgoalld involve a neutral nation in a mass of perPlex- Iities which would obscure the " hole field of inteEna tibnal obligation, pro duce economic admission and deprive all cornmerce and industry of legftiss mate fields of enterp prise alneady heavily eburdened by the unavoidable restrictions Of war.
 In this connection it is pertinent to direct the attention of the imperial and royal government to the fact that Austria Hungary and Germany, par ticularly the latter. have during the years preceding the present European war pr roducedsa great surplus of arms and ammunition. which they sold throu ghout the world and especially to bel1igerents. Never during that period did either of them suggest or apply the principle now advocated by the imperial and.royal government
 During the Boer War between Great Britain and the South African repub- lies the patrol of sthe coast of neigh boring neutral colonies by British na- val vessels preventd arms and anInu- milton reaching the Transvaal or the Orange Free State. The allied re- publics were in situation almost identical in that respect with that in which Austria Hungary and Germany find themselves at the present time. | Y et sin spite of the commercial isoIa- Iticn of one bel1igerent Gerna1y sold to Great Britain and the other bel Iigerent, hundreds of thousands of ki1os of explosives, gunpowder, car tridges. shot and weapons; and it is known that t4Rustria-aungary also sold similar munitions to the same pur- chaser. though in small quantities. while as compared with the present war, the quantities sold were small ca table of the sales is appended), the principle of neutrality involved was the same If at that time Austria Hungary and her present ally had re- fused to sell arms and ammunition to Great Britain on the ground that to do so would violate the spirit of strict neutrality the imperial and roy al government might with greater consistency and greater force urge it's present contention.
 It might be further pointed out that during the Crimean war large quan- titles of arms and military stores were furnished to Russia by Prussian man. ufacturers; that during the recent war between Turkey and Italy, as this government is advised arms and am