The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1916-08-09
The Brikjsh Blacklist,

f, The British Blacklist.
The very bad impression made by
the British blacklist is due to appne-
hension of what might be called it's
reverberatory effects. Wednesdays
newspapers carry assurances from Sir
Cecil Spring Rice that the blacklist Is
not intended as secondary boycott,
and that the blacklisted firms will not
be stopped in their dealings with neu-
trail countries. But as a matter Of
practice 1T is feared that the effect
can not be limited There is a report
for example nthat Dutch steamship
lines are refusing to carry blacklisted
goods. This is due to general pol.
icy of commercial frightfulness which
leaves the smaller neutralsr at Brit
aims mercy. The terror is almost GER
tain to he contagious, so that other
firms dependent on the good will OF
the allies will inevitably fear to deal
with the blacklisted firms. While
there may be no reason to question the
technical right of government to reg
ulate it's national trade, the actual fact
of commercial INTERPOLATION in the
modern world makes it impossible to
define sharply the limits of such &C.
ton. We are confronted with some
thing larger than the legal privilege OF
government.
Sympathy for the allies must not dis
tort American judgment of the black
list. 1t is one thing, for example, to
acauiesce in the blockade" as a mill.
tary measure. American opinion on
the whole does acquieSce. But what
it finds hard to understand is the mil.
itary value attached to measure
which fights German commerce not
within the German empire. 1t is one
thing to close up Germany SO nothing
can go in or out That bears a. direct
relation to the outcome of the war, the
freeing Of Belgium and France. 1t is
quite another matter to make war on
German trade with neutrals in the
United States, South America and
China. TO the American mind this
looks like mere commercial aggression
not for the objects of the war, but in
the interests of British merchants. The
real danger of the blacklist is that it is
regarded as a measure growing out OF
the hateful policy of war after the
war. There is an internal struggle in
England today between the protection
ist tories and the free trade liberals
and the peace of the world depends on
the victory of the liberals. Permit
measures like the blacklist to pass I'M
challenged and the appetite OF the
tories will grow by what it feeds upon.
The New Republic.
June, 1916, importations reached the
highest figure ever recorded in the
trade history of the United States.
The average rate Of duty on those i'm.
ports was the lowest ever recorded in
cur history We imported $246,0OO,00O
worth of foreign goods, which paid
duty of $19915,393, or an average rate
of 81 per cent. At this rate the demo-
cratic party will have to devise 81
varieties of taxation : to pay for the
pork" consumption OF the southern
states and to meet ,snreparedness pro.
gram which absolutely .disregards the
question of government source of in.
come But there is always Internal
taxation to fall back upon, and, as a
democratic representative from the
south remarked to Uncle Joe Cannon,
"Well, it does not make any difference
how we vote for expenditures. You
fellows north have got to pay Them"
And to the southern congressman the
north and the west are all OF a piece.
More airship raids reported from
Europe. but the number of women and
babies killed does not seem to have
been very satisfactory.
1t is claimed that wooden sOled
shoes will have to be- used owing to
the scarcity of leather, but they can't
,,,l,o ony r,oro po;ea that the hoyS