The Irish standard., 1915-01-16
RIGHTS OF AMERICAN 00H!E'!g?!g4
We Should Enforce Our Claims by Embargo Aga,..
Goods Hon. Thos. D. Schall Reviews Legal Righ.~
of American Shipping Interests.
written for Irish standard.)

rs S1OOQS. t1Ou. j uOS. ~. ~
of American Shi
Especially written for Irish Standard.)
In an interview with Thomas D.
Schall, congressman-elect from the
new Tenth Congressional District of
Minnesota, relative to President VIII.
sons note to England, Mr.. Schall said:
Every American should support
the administration in its patriotic and
truly American position with refer
ence to the unauthorized interference
Of Great Britain with the commerce
Of the United States, and every con-
gresham, irrespective of party, Re-
publican, Progressive or Democrat,
should support any repressive mea-
sure which President Wilson may sug-
gest or propose, for we know that he
will demand of Congress only what
is right and thoroughly in consonance
with international law.
The question is not difficult one,
not even admitting of controversy,
especially as concerns foodstuffs.
The position taken by Lord Salisbury
at the time of the Boer war was in
line with that of his predecessor In
the ministry and has been taken since.
AS the United States has never as
sented to the Declaration of London,
the matter must be settled by the
principles of international law. I
shall quote only two authorities on
that point, one an old one, the other
the most recent, which very nearly If
not quite brings the whole matter
down to date.
vattel's great work was published
in 1858. It Immediately superseded
all previous authors on the subject
and became standard authority on
the subject. We read in one of Ma
caulay's essays that King George II
Of England spoke with the utmost con-
tempt of one of his ministers because
'.he had never read Vattel." Says
vattel, Commodities, particularly
useful in war, and the importation Of
which to an enemy is prohibited are
called contraband goods. Such are
arms, ammunition, timber for ship
building, every kind of naval stores,
horses, and even provisions in GER
tain junctures, when we have hopes
Of reducing the enemy by famine" !"
The generality of the last statement
is modified by the footnote, which
shows that the author refers to excep-
tional cases, and that the great au-
thority of the pensionary, De Witt,
the greatest statesman of his time,
was clearly against the doctrine of
provisions being made contraband.
The latest authority published in
1906 brings the matter quite down to
date. Oppenheim says, Vol. 2, Sec.
1894, "There are many articles which
are not by their character destined to
be made use of in war, but are never
theless of great value to belligerents,
for the continuance of the war. Such
articles are conditionally contraband,
which means that they are contra
band when it is clearly apparent that
they are intended to be made use of
for military or naval purposes. This
intention becomes apparent on con-
sidering either the destination of the
vessel carrying the articles concerned
or the consignee of the articles. 1t
such destination is an enemy fleet
or any enemy port exclusively or
mainly used for military or naval
equipment, or if the consignee Is
contractor for the enemy army and
navy, it may justly be presumed that
the goods are intended to be made
use Of for military or naval purposes.
What articles belong to this class can
not be decisively laid down. Neither
the practice of states nor the opinion
of writer's agrees upon the matter, and
It is in especial controverted whether
or not foodstuffs, horses and other
beasts Of burden, coal and other fuel,
money and the like, and cotton can
conditionally be declared contraband.
"That foodstuffs cannot under ordi.
nary circumstances be declared con-
traband there ought to be no doubt.
There are even several writer's who
emphatically deny that foodstuffs can
ever be conditional contraband. But
the majority Of writer's admit that
foodstuffs destined for the use Of the
I enemy, army or navy, may be declared
contraband. This is also the practice
Of Great Britain, the United States
Of America, and japan. But France
declared in 1885, during her hostili-
ties against China, rice in general as
contraband, on the ground of the i'm
portance Of this article for the Chinese
population. And Russia, In 1904, dur.
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