The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-08-04
FIRM
in DECISION
In Three Notes Maintains
That She is Within In
ternational Law
CITES PRECEDENTS
OF THE CIVIL WAR
Statements Are Weakened by Making
German Violations an Excuse for Her
own Acts Careful Not to Admit
That Blockade Is Reprisal.

WASHINGTON, August Sin three
notes made public at the state department
last night Great Britain attempts to justify
her interferenees with American trade in
connection with the so-called blockade of
Germany.
These three communications, together
with two notes from the United States
on the same subject, constitute a fresh
chapter in the British American trade con-
troyersy arising out of the European war.
The documents, made public for the first
time, clearly define the issues between the
United States and Great Britain. They
show each of the governments protesting
and insisting on the strietest adherence to
the same principles of international law,
while sharply disagreeing on the question
whether certain measures are in conform
ity with these principles.
The United States insists upon the Sin
ternationa1 invalidity" of the practice of
OBTAINING goods shipped from neutral
port to the United States on the ground
that they are of German origin and de-
mands that non-contraband goods from this
country be permitted to pass freely to Ger
many when consigned to the port of neu-
trail country.
! Great Britain attempts to show that
such interferences with goods both to and
| from neutral ports are legitimately de-
rived from the principle of the right of
blockade She asserts that she is doing
only what the United States did in the
Civil war, that is, adapting the cold prin-
ciples of blockade to the peculiar circum-
stances of the present war.
1t is admitted here that the British
arguments are for the most part able and
Ingenious, particularly in their application
of United States procedure in the Civil
war and American prize court decisions
in the Civil war cases to the defence Of
practices against which the United States
is now complaining.
The communications from the London
! foreign office are markedly different from
the British notes of last winter on the
same and related subjects, in that they are
Ealmost wholly legal arguments and contain
little of the extraneous matter of former
notes.
1t is believed here that the British au
thorities have at least come to understand
: something of the American point of view
{ and to recognize the protests, which ar,
based on this governments reading of tn,
law with defence which will commend it
! lseif to legal view of the situation.
Officials in Washington regard the Brit
: ish statements as weakened, however. b,
certain references to Germany's conduc
= mentioned by Great Britain as justification,
of her position. 1t is felt that Great Brit
ain has to an extent lowered her case to
ward the level of the position of Germany
in so far as she cites German violation
of the law as excuse for her own acts.
Unlike the German government, how
, ever, the British are careful not to 90 $
} far to admit that their blockade is
reprisal and therefore without basis i
law; on the contrary, they contend tina
it is a legally sjustifable'' measure 70
meeting Germany's illegal acts.