ments alike, so that
the disapproval is not an unneutral act. The case is entirely
different in the matter of arms and ammunition because prohibition of
export not only might not, but, in this case, would not, operate
equally upon the nations at war. Then, too, the reason given for the
disapproval of war loans is supported by other considerations which
are absent in the case presented by the sale of arms and ammunition.
The taking of money out of the United States during such a war as this
might seriously embarrass the Government in case it needed to borrow
money, and it might also seriously impair this nation's ability to
assist the neutral nations which, though not participants in the war,
are compelled to bear a heavy burden on account of the war, and,
again, a war loan, if offered for popular subscription in the United
States, would be taken up chiefly by those who are in sympathy with
the belligerents seeking the loan.

The result would be that great numbers of the American people might
become more earnest partisans, having material interest in the success
of the belligerent whose bonds they hold. These purchasers would not
be confined to a few, but would spread generally throughout the
country, so that the people would be divided into groups of partisans,
which would result in intense bitterness and might cause an
undesirable if not a serious situation. On the other hand, contracts
for and sales of contraband are mere matters of trade. The
manufacturer, unless peculiarly sentimental, would sell to one
belligerent as readily as he would to another. No general spirit of
partisanship is aroused--no sympathies excited. The whole transaction
is merely a matter of business.

This Government has not been advised that any general loans have been
made by foreign Governments in this country since the President
expressed his wish that loans of this character should not be made.

_(14) Submission to arrest of native-born Americans on neutral vessels
and in British ports and their imprisonment._

The general charge as to the arrest of American-born citizens on board
neutral vessels and in British ports, the ignoring of their passports,
and their confinement in jails, requires evidence to support it. That
there have been cases of injustice of this sort is unquestionably
true, but Americans in Germany have suffered in this way, as Americans
have in Great Britain. This Government has considered that the
majority of these cas