The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-28
SELLING WAR MATERIAL.
To Withhold II From BeIligerents
would Promote Militarism.

'Hh ~
To THE EDrroR or THE srS-sir. May
! touch upon the embargo question de-
bated in your columns? I have read
the contributions Of Ammi Wright and
his critics. Brother Ammi Wright main
tains that the law OF the land and in
ternational usage Of many years-in-
deed. international law. IL you please
gives the right to subjects Of n neutral
state to sell arms and ammunition to
a beliigerent State. So much for the
right. Thus a legal right exists. has
existed for years, and will continue to
exist. because no nation un%prepared for
war can maintain itself against a pre-
pared belligerent nation without draw
Ing on the markets OF neutrals for war
supplies.
Assume the contrary was the law and
the usage that no nation, once it had
declared war or war was declared
against II. could purchase munitions
anywhere on this planet. What would
be the result? II would create in every
civilized country thorough preparedness (;
yea. more than that, II would set the
nations competing with each other to
see which could hoard the greatest
strength, and the result would be a
colossal and worldwide armament along
the lines Of German endeavor that you'd
put present day Germany to shame. An
international policy Of that klnd would
mean worldwide militarism the like OF
which history holds no parallel.
In everyday life man Is an unprepared
animal. He does not go about as the
lion and the tiger ready for the fray.
So II Is with civilized nations. for ma
tons are a~ggregations Of men. In
ternational comfy provides for current
exchange and business relations between
nations. which usage has ripened into
law. That law gives every belligerent
who IL not engaged In war with US
the right to come to our shores for the
weapons Of his choice. II also gives
US the same right to go abroad for
whatever necessities we may have in
the stress of war. II Is sound sense.
II Is good usage. II II salutary law.
SO far az I can see. the principal ar
pument against Ammi Wright's logical
and we'll chosen ground is that certain
Americans. well known. and some OF
them statesmen and philan'hropists
maintain they could not co~nsc!entiously
make a dollar out Of war munitions.
therefore IL is against good conscience
thai these sales are made. and as 4
matter Of good conscience the trade
should be prohibited and an embargo
laid on war goods.
Let ,rs look at that proposition and
TtHfOn u bul ny dIlhADk 'Abl'F
there was no war. and II was not mu-
nitlons that were shipped 10 Europe
but Intoxicating liquors. We were SELL
Ing liquors to Europe ito inebriate the
youth. destroy the home Sc. Certain
we'll known gentlemen in these United
States would not sell liquors to dcbase
the manhood OF Europe. they would not
sell liquors no matter how curtailed or
regulated the sale. and the fact Is they
would not sell intoxicating liquors at
all. And the reason for this would be
a conscientious conviction tina the man
~ufacture and sale ~ intoxicating liquors
was OF Itself wrong Therefore inter-
national traffic in liquors would be i'm
moral and unjust. and as a logical con-
sequence IT should be prohibited.
Sow. then. will tho critics ~ Ammi
Wrigh say because conscience enters
into the objection Of certain well known
Americans that international law should
lnterdict International traffc In intoNi-
eating liquors. Hardly. But these
other critics would GO to the extent OF
an embargo on munitions. Well. the
rule Of conscience L. no stronger In one
case than IL IL I" the other The mere
fact that corsclentiously men object
10 the trarlc would give us no inter-
national right to take the law into
our own hands and revise Il without
the consent Of other nations. simply be-
cause the consCiences Of some excellent
gentlemen would b" shocked ny the
making ~ money nv the sale Of NUM-
tions. intoxicating liquors, or, perhaps.
gold bricks.
Some day, when the grim spectre Of
wal hovers over his land. as II will.
we shall rush 10 othe- nations for
supplies and then II Germany be not
our enemy she will sell us munitions,
providing we have the price.
The cruN Of the whole matter was
exhibited by Ammi Wright, but his
critics c~leverly overlook IL. He said
substantially thai u Germany had on
sea an equal opportunity To that Of the
Allies to get American munitions there
would be- no question raised as to the
sale Of war supplies. Here ~ the con-
trolling fact. Amin Wright IL right
Another point. and | am done. Con-
siderable criticism " lcvelled at the
II %. Ammi Wright because he uses a
nom de plume. Shame on him So
do I use a nom de plume. II IL great
fun. Why. several years ago in n
nom de plume fitting OF lsnces in THE
St.S | had a run In with another
nom de plumis'. and, to my great glee,
learned about a year later hat he was
a college classmate and friend of mine.
Notore should C~rltlcise rom he plume
debate IN 20 fair a journal as THE SIN.
The Office boy can under a nom d" plume
take a elm at Theodore Roosevelt. and
the productions % the disputlnts will
appear equally and fairly before the
readers OF THE SUN. The only defer
ence to be paid by the reading public
will he to the best written letter and TO
the ore having the st.ffest punch
Good luck to Ammi wright | sus-
pect II he really divulged himself he
would stand revealed as a name well
known generally. Here's to him
u,srnN Angus, o.. BOsTOSfAS.