St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-09-01
Making Cotton Contraband.

The declaration by England that
cotton shall be considered contra
band of war will have little effect
upon the readers of THE GALE
DOMAIN and perhaps be of little in
terest. But there is an important
matter of serious concern to all
Americans. 1t is understood that the
cause for this declaration by England
is that raw cotton is used in the
manufacture of explosives and it
hopes in this way to prevent Ger
many from getting this material for
its ammunition. 1t was unable to
do this by blockade because cotton
was sent to neutral countries contig-
uous to Germany andsent from there
into Germany. England had no right
to seize cotton SO consigned and the
only way in which it could justify
the seizure of it on the high sea was
to declare it contraband.
In it's declaration England has as
sumed a very inconsistent and rep
rehensible position. In few former
wars has cotton been declared con-
traband although the matter has
been much discussed. Russia during
the war with Japan declared cotton
contraband because it was used in
the manufacture of explosives. At
that time Lord Lansdowne, the Brit
ish secretary of state for foreign af-
fairs, British India being the larg-
est importer of raw cotton into
Japan, vigorously protested Under
date of October 8, 1904, he wrote
to the Russian minister of foreign
affairs as follows:
THE quantity of raw cotton that
might be utilized for explosives
would be infinitesimal in comparison
with the bulk of cotton exported from
India to Japan for peaceful purposes,
to treat harmless cargoes of this lat
ter description as Internationally
contraband would be to subject a
branch of innocent commerce, which
is especially important in the far
East, to a most unwarrantable inter
ference"
Secretary of State John Hay at the
same time held that ARTICLES which,
like coal, cotton and provisions,
though Of ordinarily innocent nature,
are capable of warlike use, are not
subject to capture and confiscation
unless shown by evidence to be &C
tually destined for the military or
naval forces of belligerent."
In 1909 a conference at the in
vitation of Great Britain was held in
London for the purpose of determin-
ing the generally recognized rule
of international law" At this con-
ference the representatives of all the
large powers and merchandise was
classified into contraband, condition
al eontraband and non-contraband
and at the head of the latter list was
placed raw cotton" This agree
ment was known as THE Declara-
ton of London"
On October &c, 1914, Cecil SPRING
Rice, British ambassador at Wash
ington assured Counselor Lansing of
the State department that Sir Ed
ward Grey had sent him letter say
that cotton $50 far as Great Britain
is concerned, is in the free list and
will remain there"
With these declarations on the
part of Great Britain the placing of
cotton in the list of contraband goods
liable to seizure at this time seems a
wilful violation of what it has al
ways maintained was law between
nations. 1t would seem that it could
not refuse a demand from the Unit
ed States that cotton remain on the
non-contraband list. President Will
son certainly should present such a
demand TO England and that country
should observe the regulations it
voluntarily made before the outbreak
of the present war.