Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-08-01
BLACK. LIST PROTEST
IS GIVEN TO ENGLAND
American Citizens Will Await
With Interest the Outcome of
Important issue.

Washington, July 31.-Great Britain
is warned in the American note of
protest against the blacklist, made
public Sunday by the state depart
ment of the many serious consequent
ces to neutral rights and neutral re-
lations which such an act necessarily
involves"
Already in the hands of the British
foreign office, the note says, lin the
gravest terms" that it is "manifestly
out of the question that the govern
ment Of the United States should
acquiesce in such methods" and that
the United States regards the black
list as ''inevitably and essentially in
consistent with the rights of all the
citizens of all the nations not in
volved 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,
subject only to we'll defined interna-
tional practices and understandings
which the government Of the United
States deems the government of Great
Britain to have too light and too FIRE.
quently disregarded.'
The American note is even more
| positive in it's terms than officials
have intimated.
Ambassador Page was instructed by
Acting Secretary Polk to deliver it
formally and teXtually. The note in
part:
1.-THE announcement that His Brit
annie majesty's government has placed
the names Of certain persons, firms
and corporations in the United States
,Itn:. ,:rescriptive 'Bla 'klist' and has
! forbidden all financial Or commercial
dealings between rhnm aid citizens
of Great Britain has been received
with the most painful surprise by the
people and government Of the United
States and seems to the government
of the United Statas to embOd% i
policy of arbitrary interference With
neutral trade against which it is its
duty to protest in the most decided
terms. The scope and affect 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 steamship lines under
neutral ownership, understand that il
they accept freight from them they
are likely to be denied coal at British
ports and excluded from other privi
leges which they have usually enjoy
ed, and may themselves be put on the
blacklist. Neutral bankers refuse to
answer to those on the list and neu
trail merchants decline to contract for
Their goods, fearing a like prescrip
'tgtion alt appears that British officials
regard the prohibitions of the black
list as applicable to domestic com
mercial transactions in foreign coun
tries as well as in Great Britain and
her dependencies, for Americans do
ing business in foreign countries have
been put on notice that their dealings
with blacklisted firms are to be re-
garded as subject to veto by the Brit
ish government. By the same prin
ciple Americans in the United States
might be made subject to similar
punitive action if they were found
dealing with any of their own country
men whose names had thus been list
ed.
"The harsh and even disastrous eff.
fects of this policy upon the trade of
the United States and upon the neu-
trail rights upon which it will not fail
to insist are obvious. Upon the list
of these prescribed and in effect shut
out from the general commerce of the
world may be found American con-
Germs which are engaged in large COM
mercial operations as Importers of
| foreign products and materials and as
distributors of American products and
manufacturers to foreign countries
and which constitute important chan
nels through which American trade
reaches the outside world. Their for
eign affiliations may have been foster
ed for many years, and when one
broken cannot easily or promptly be
re-established. Other concerns may
be put on the list at any time with
out notice. 1t is understood that ad-
ditions to the prescription may be
made: whenever on account of enemy