Evening star., 1935-12-04
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

Whatever the League Of Nations
decides next week regarding an en-
barge on oil supplies to Italy, the
United States Government will not
interfere with the export of normal
quantities of oil to Italy until Con-
gress convenes and decides whether
the neutrality act should be broadened
to include an embargo on raw mate
rials to the belligerent countries.
Meanwhile. Secretary Hull reiter-
ated to newspaper men this Govern
ment's determination to do everything
possible toward discouraging abnormal
sales of commodities listed as war
materials to either Italy or Ethiopia.
He did not comment directly on r.
ports that new legislation must pre-
cede any official steps to halt ship
ments of commodities like oil, cotton
and copper.
The State Department has, for the
time being, no power to prohibit the
export of any kind of raw materials to
Italy or Ethiopia, and if oil producers
do not want to heed the warning OF
President Roosevelt not to deal with
the belligerents, there is nothing the
administration can do about it.
The question of risks" Is purely
academic. The League Of Nations may
declare an embargo on oil or cotton or
copper. but such an embargo will not
threaten American shipments unless
blockade against the aggreSSor is de-
clared by Geneva. And for the time
being such measure is not even dis
cussed, either at Geneva or in London
and Paris.
Method of Oil Purchases.
Furthermore, the Italian govern
fnent which continues to purchase
large supplies of oil in the United
States takes this precious raw mate
rial in its own ships and pays for its
purchases before it is delivered in
Italian or other non American tankerS.
This method of Mussolini's govern
ment induces number of independent
oil producers to overlook the admoni-
tions of the State Department. They
continue to sell oil while it is possible
to do SO legally.
Congress refused last August to give
the President discretionary powers to
deal with Americas neutrality prob
lem. 1t merely authorized the Chief
Executive to prevent the shipment of
war materials to the belligerents.
When the State Department drafted
list of such materials to be placed
on the embargo list, it was forced to
limit it to actual weapons used in war
ammunition.
The statement of Senator Pittman,
Democrat, Of Nevada, on the floor of |
the Senate that cotton would not be |
considered as war material was taken |
as clear indication that the Senate
did not want copper, oil end other key
materials included, for the time being
at least, in the embargo list.
State Department officials took this
to mean that if they were to include
anything else except actual war
weapons in the embargo list individ-
uals or corporations could obtain an
injunction from the courts ordering
the United States Government to re-
frain from interfering with the exer-
else OF the legitimate and lawful busi-
ness of its citizens.
Of course, if a blockade we're de-
clared against Italy the situation
would change radically.
On receiving notification to the
effect that a blockade has been de-
clared the United States Government
will inform its citizens that any ship |
ment of goods to the blockaded
: (See on, Pace Al