File No. 763.72111/2866
The Secretary of State to the Secretary to the President (Tumulty)
My Dear Mr. Tumulty: Referring to your letter of September 13,1 in regard to the embargoes imposed by neutral countries upon the exportation of brims and ammunition, the Department has information on this subject in regard to the following countries:
| Brazil | China |
| Argentina | Denmark |
| Chile | Sweden |
| Colombia | Norway |
| Paraguay | Netherlands |
| Peru | Spain |
| Uruguay | Portugal |
| Venezuela | Italy |
It appears that none of the South American countries mentioned have placed an embargo on arms and ammunition during the present war, with the exception of Brazil which, by a decree of August 4, 1914, prohibited the exportation of “war materials from Brazilian ports to those of the powers at war.”
Of the European countries mentioned, all have placed an embargo on the exportation of war materials except Portugal which appears to have taken no official action of this sort. Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Holland prohibited the exportation of arms and ammunition in order, it is reported, to conserve their supplies for their own use. It is reported also that the exportation of such materials from any of these countries, except possibly Italy, would, if allowed, have been of a negligible quantity. It is not possible to ascertain whether the real ground for the embargoes was, in some cases, that of conservation or really to avoid the enmity of the belligerents, to retaliate against some vexatious measure of the belligerents or to maintain a strict neutrality. It may be that in some cases all of these grounds governed the action of the neutral country.
In the Orient, China appears to have interdicted private commerce in articles of a contraband nature.
As of possible value, I also enclose some copies of a print entitled “Articles whose export is prohibited by the neutral European countries.”1 This compilation has been prepared in the Department from the latest information available up to June 26, 1915.
I can see no objection to printing the information given in this letter, with the statement that it is compiled by the Department of State from information available at the time.
Very sincerely yours,