Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-09-25
THE aBLACK LIST"
From the London Times.

-..... f. From the London Times
Protests cOntinU. 10 reach us against our action
i'm prohibiting nationals from trading with GER
tain firms in the United States The agitation start
ed with the publication last month Of the black list
of these firms. and famed by the appearance
of a note from Washington sharply accusing us OF
brushing aside neutral rights Our economic
measures against the enemy have thus produced vet
another controversy with friends acress the At
lantic We are 10th believe that the controversy
il or is likely to become serious German Amer
lean traders whom have blacklisted may well he
annoyed at finding that they no longer line their
pockets by furthering from New York the trans
atlantic schemes of their friends in Germany; but
We are convinced that in the main the outcry and
even it's official manifestations are due to the same
factor as has been at the bottom Of more than one
of our recent controversies with the United States
namely, misunderstanding.
The principle behind the Olack list is quite simple
The list is based upon the incontestabe right Of
governments to tell their subjects with whom they
may or may not trade. 1t is right which exists
and is sometimes invoked in times Of peace The
United States and Great Britain and other coun
tries used it to suppress the opium traffic In times
of war IFS invocation is a matter of course In the
American civil war the North forbade by proclama-
ton trade with the seeding states. During the
pacifcaton of the Philippines-and this parallel is
now to the pointthe United States rigidly enfOrc-
ed it against neutral traders in the Philippines who
were suspected of dealing with the insurrectionary
Aguinaldo. In this war one of the first acts of
Great Britain was to place an embargo upon the ex
port OF various imperial products to countries which
were not Allies, and nobody seriously questioned
the Justice OF its action. In the same way can
hardly be denied the right to warn our traders
that they must not have dealings with residents in
neutral countries who are even suspected of aiding
or abettng in any way the affairs OF the enemy. and
TO tell them who these people are. The American
black list was, in fact promulgated after the most
careful consideration after similar black lists had
been for some time in force regarding other neutral
countries on both sides of the Atlantic. Possibly
there may be some mistakes in it. If so they can
be easily rectified, and no doubt will be. The more
closely it is studied the more clearly does our war
trade policy appear to- have been formulated with
all possible regard not only for the rights but also
for the convenience of neutras As the cotton oper
atiyes OF Lancashire discovered during the civil war;
innocent neutrals must sometimes suffer from the
trade policies of beigerents and il may be that the
plight of neutrals who thus suffer is sometimes ag
grvated by the spectacle of the prosperity of neigh
bors whom the accident of commerce has rendered
the gamers from war trades. But, further Off
cial discussion will surely show, we can in all sin
certify affirm that in telling our merchants with
whom they may trade and in indicating to our ship
owners whose goods they may may not carry, we
are simply trying to contribute to the of civil
lizaion by bringing the>wa TO its forpgone conclu
sion as quickly as possible and are doing so with a
clear conscience. whether We look at the business
from the legal or from the ethical point of view.