The bill provides that the title of any goods to be Shipped to foreign belligerents must pass to a foreign purchaser before shipment may be made. thus freeing the United States Government of any responsibility to protect the cargo after it leaves an American port.
The Committee adopted President Roosevelt's definition of "arms, ammunition and implements of war" as stated in his proclamation of May 1, 1937, and adopted an amendment prohibiting the arming of American merchantmen trading with belligerents.
The prohibition against loans or credits to belligerents by United States citizens would be re-enacted by the proposed act which, however. would authorize the President to lift the prohibition in certain cases in which the extension "of commercial credits or the sale of short-time obligations was considered desirable "to protect the commercial and other interests of the United States and its citizens." The President would be required to make public quarterly reports divulging the nature of any exceptions made under this provision of the proposed law.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.