The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-18
ASKS COOPERATION
 OF UNITED STATES
 IN AIDING NEUTRALS
(Continued from Page one)

could not answer the note until the controversy with Germany over the Lusitania case was settled.
 This latest communication, addressed to Secretary Lansing and signed by MT. Ekengren, was presented recently aft CT such a proposal had been advanced and discussed from time to time, but until today the fact did not become known Following is the text of the note:
 NOTE FROM SWEDEN
 q have been instructed by his ex- cellency, the minister for foreign af- fairs at Stockholm, to address the fol- lowing to your excellency:
 "The royal government has, during the present war, from time to time, pro- posed to your excellency that through and preserve certain important rules of international law which concern protection of neutral commerce and navigation and which are being vio- lated by Great Britain.
 "The violation of existing rules of international law has, regardless of protests, increased until at present only a few rules, serving as protection to neutral commercial intercourse, are observed by Great Britain and it is feared that also these few remaining will be violated.
 His majesty's government, which is deeply conscious of it's responsibility to not omit any measure tending to pre- vent such an eventua1ity, and we'll aware of the danger for the future if these rules, which are of infinite worth to civilization as whole, are not pre- served desires to herewith make re- newed representation to your excellency in this respect
 "Of late, the British authorities have violated the mail traffic. Parcel post from one neutral country to another is being unloaded in British ports and the contents are being seized While par eel post is not protected through the Hague postal convention, 1t nevertheless seems to his majesty's government that the British procedure, in the form and eXtensiveness practiced, would be in- valid even with regard to ordinary ex- press goods, and that this seems par ticularly evident when the seizure of parcel post is directed against 8 means of conveyance under guarantee of sov- ereign powers. Besides, great personal inconvenience is connected with seizure of this kind.
 GREATER VIOLATION
 However, England's present practice of censoring also first class mail, sent by neutral vessels from one neutral country to another, is an even greater violation of the rights accorded neutral powers by the rules of international law. It is not necessary to particu- larly point out how contrary this prac- tice is to the stipulations in the above mentioned Hague convention, which stipulations or rules must be considered to have been in existence even before the promu1gation of this convention.
 The royal government, therefore, now appeals to the government of the United States for cooperation for the purpose of seeking to bring about dis continuance of the violations of inter- national law at least so far as the same concerns first class mail and it solicits as early an answer as pos sible, whether your excellency is will ling to take appropriate action in CO., operation with the royal government and eventually the governments of other neutral countries for the purpose of causing that the rule involves-and which is one of the Fundamental stipu- 1ations of international law-be obeyed."