Omaha daily bee., 1916-07-31
SHARP WARNING IN
THE BLACKLIST NOTE
2 nited States Gives England
a Tart Reminder of Its
Responsibility.
CITIZENS RIGHTS INVADED

Washington, July 30.-Great Britain
is warned in the American note Of
protest against the blacklist, made
public tonight by the State depart
ment of the many serious con-
sequences to neutral rights and nett
trail relations which such an act must
necessarily involve.
Already in the hands of the British
foreign office, the note says:
"In the gravest terms" that it is,
"manifestly out of the. question that
the government of the United States
should acquiesce in such methods" and
that the United States regards the
blacklist as inevitably and essentially
inconsistent with the rights of all
their citizens of all the nations not
involved in the war" 1t reminds the
British government that Citizens OF
the United States are entirely within
their rights in attempting to trade
with the people or the governments
of any of the nations now at war, sub
ject only to we'll defined international
practices and understandings which
the government of the United States
deems the government of Great
Britain have too lightly and too fire.
quently disregarded.'
Note Positive in Terms.
The American note is even more
positive in its terms than official have
intimated.
Ambassador Page was instructed by
Acting Secretary Polk to deliver 1t
formally and textually. 1t follows:
THE announcement that his Brit
annie majestiy's government has
placed the names of certain persons,
firms and corporations in the United
States upon q prescribed blacklist and
has forbidden all financial and COM
mercial dealings between them and
Great Britain has been received with
the most painful surprise by the peo-
pie and the government OF the United
States and seems to the government
of the United States to embody {. pol
icy of arbitrary interference with 1neu-
trail trade against which it is its duty
to protest in the most decided terms
The scope and effect of the policy are
extraordinary. British steamship
companies will not accept cargoes
from the prescribed firms or persons
or transport their goods to any port
and steampship lines under neutral
ownership understand that if they &C.
cept freight they are likely to be de.
MED coal at British ports and exclud-
ed from other privileges which here.
tofore they have enjoyed and may
themselves be put on the blacklist
Neutral bankers refuse to answer to
those terms and neutral merchants
to contract for their goods, fearing a
like prescription. 1t appears that
British officials regard the prohibi.
tions of the blacklist as applicable tc
domestic commercial transactions ir
foreign countries as we'll as in Grea,
Britain and its dependencies, for
Americans doing business with for.
eign countries have been put on no.
tice that their dealings with blacklist
firms are to be regarded as subject tc
veto by the British government. BY
the same principle Americans in the
United States might be made subject
TO similar punitive action ii they were
found dealing with any OF their owr
countrymen whose names had thu:
been listed.
Destroys Trade Relations.
THE harsh and even disastrous ef.
fects of this policy upon the trade oi
the United States and upon, the neu
trail rights upon which it will not fai
to insist are obvious. Upon the list
of those prescribed and in effec: ant
shut out from the general trade ot
the world may be found American
firms which are engaged in large
commercial operations as importer.
or foreign products and materials ant
as distributors of American product.
and manufactures to foreign coun
tries and which constitute importan
channels through which American
trade reaches the outside world. Theil
foreign affiliations may have beer
fostered for many years, and wher
once broken cannot easily or prompt
| Continued on Page Two, Column Four.)