Canada and Supplies President Roosevelt's invocation of the Neutrality Act in regard to the belligerents in the European war and Canada's declaration of war against Germany have aroused a number of interesting questions, chiefly bearing on the question of war supplies. Canada's hesitancy 'a following its belligerency decision by a formal declaration was believed to be due to the desire to escape the application of the Neutralfy Act and, thereby, serve as an important channel of war supplies to Britain from the United States. "Immediately the war declaration was made, President Roosevelt also. Included Canada among the belligerents and even ie the suggested neutrality desire were correct {to solve the supplies question the state of posltion of the Dominion Is that of other countries Involved in the restrictions. of the Neutrality Act, In the meantime, a number of American aeroplane manufacturers are continuing to complete contracts from Britain and. France made before the outbreak of war, and among Paclfle Coast factories work is proceeding on a 'U.8.$93,000,000 contract, while' one shipment, thought possibly to be affected by the arms embargo under' the Neutrality Act, has been permitted to leave San Juan atter reference to {the Washington authorities. Behind. this con-nuance of construction is the belief that there may be a revision of the Neutrality Act, and colour is lent to this by the report that a special session of Congress will be summoned before the end of the month to discuss revision of the Aet, Che Isolation bloc in Congress is fighting to the end to prevent a revision on the ground that such a step would Inevitably lea the United States into war, but the sentiment favour of revision must indeed be strong If manufacturers are satisfied to ignore present conditions and work on. large-scale orders which would probably represent a loss if obstacles prevented their being taken up. After all, the problem of American supplies could easily "be circumvented. If the European market 1s s0 profitable there is nothing prevent American engineers, workmen and capital passing over into Canada and operate factories on as large a scale as the demand warrants, Already, many American motor car and manufacturers of other products are well established in Canada producing goods which in other circumstances would be produced in the United States, President Roosevelt's re-aflirmation of the Monroe Doctrine in ite application fo Canada is another important pointer to American sentiment. Although in" no case whatsoever could it be said that Britain would shirk her defence obligations to Canada in the conditions to which President Roosevelt referred, in his Kingston speech Inst year, and his remarks at the Washington press conference on hhis insistence on the inviolability of European ostassions on the American continent.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.