New Britain herald., 1916-07-31
AMERICAN NOTE
 RAPS BLACKLIST
Britain Warned Of Serious Con-
 sequences That Must Follow


 ain is warned, in the American note of 1 protest against the blacklist made public last night by the state depart ment, of the many serious conse- l quences to neutral right anl neutral relations which such an act must nec- essarily involve.'
 Already in the hands of the British foreign office, the note declares 'in the gravest terms that is mani festly out of the question that the government of the United States should acquiesce in such methods" and that the United States re- gards the blacklist as "inevitabIy and essentially inconsistent with the rights of all the citizens of the nations not involved in the war" It reminds the British government that "citizens of the United States are entirely with in their rights in attempting to trade win 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 Brit ain to have too lightly and frequently disregarded.''
 The American note is even more positive in it's terms than officials have intimated. Ambassador Page was in structed by Acting Secretary Polk to deliver it formally and textually. It follows:
 "The announcement that his Brit tanic majestys government has placed the names of certain persons, firms and corporations in the United States upon a proscriptive blacklist and has forbidden all financial or commercial dealings between them and citizens of Great Britain has been received with the most painful sur prise by the people and government of the United States, and seems to the government of the Unitedw States to embody a policy of arbitrary interfer- ence with neutral trade against which it is it's 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 steamship liues under neutral ownership understand that if they ac- cept freight from them they are like ly to be denied coal at British ports and excluded from other privileges which they have usually enjoyed, and may themselves be put upon the blacklist. Neutral bankers refuse loans to those on the list and neutral mer- chants decline to contract for thelr goods fearing like prescription. It appears that British officials regard the prohibition of the blacklist as ap- L1o oio1 t,-oT1 -ac if foreign countries as well as in Great Britain and her dependencies, for Americans doing business in foreign countries have been put on notice that tn cir dealings with blacklisted firms are to be regarded as subject to veto by the British government. By the same principle Americans in the United States might be made subject to similar punitive action if they were found dealing with any of their own countrymen whose names had thus been listed.
 "The harsh and even disastrous ef- fects of this policy upon the trade of the United States and upon the neu- tral rights upon which it will not fail to insist are obvious. Upon the list of those prescribed and in effect shut out from the general commerce Of the world may be found American con- cerns which are engaged in large com mercial operations as importers or foreign products and materlalS ana as distributors of American produc1s and manufa ctu~es to foreign coulllrleS and which constitute important cnali- nels through which American Ciaoe reaches the outside world. Ihelr lol- eign affiliations may have been 1os- tered for many years, and when once broken cannot easily or promptly De re-esta blished. Other concerns may be put upon the list at any tl1ne ahu without notice. It is understood tha' additions to the prescription may oe made Whenever on account of en- emy nationality or enemy association of such persons bodies of persons it appears to his majesty expedient to do so' The possibilities of unde- served injury to American citizens from such measures, arbitrarily talk en- and of serious and incalculable in terruptions of American trade are without limit
 Tt has been stated on behalf of his majestys government that these measures were aimed only at the enemies of Great Britain and would be adopted and enforced with strict regard to the rights of neutrals and with the least possible detriment to neutral trade, but 1t is evident that they are inevitably and essentially inconsistent with the rights of the citi- zens of all the nations not involved in war. The government of the United States begs to remind the government of his majesty that citizens of the United States are entirely within their rights in attemDting to trade with the people or the governments of any of the nations now at war, subject only to well-def1ned international practices and understandings which the govern ment of the United States deems the