In Portland, the enthusiasm was not marked, but Mr. Hughes made a good campaign speech. The effect of his coming probably will be confined to the stirring up of the Republican (Continued on Fourth Page)

WASHINGTON, September. Any proof that Great Britain is using trade information secured from intercepted neutral mail in her struggle for commercial supremacy would probably be followed by vigorous opposition by the American government to secure international relations of the policy.

A statement during a tariff debate in Parliament recently by David Lloyd George, the British War Secretary, that such information properly could be put to "any public and national use," is regarded by officials here as opening the way for practices which would work inestimable injury to American interests. While the State Department declined to make any comment, particularly a full investigation of the exact meaning of the War Secretary's declaration, there were many evidences that the policy he suggested was viewed as unsupportable in international law.

Discussion of the subject brought out the suggestion that, although the Phelan amendment denying use of American mail, cable, telegraph, and express privileges to citizens of foreign countries interfering with American mails was stricken out of the retaliatory legislation recently passed by Congress, the measure as enacted contains authorizations which might be construed as broad enough to allow.  The President to retaliate against unfair use of the censorship. Many officials believe that if it can be shown that British firms have an unfair advantage over American firms because of legislation passed as a result of information gained illegally from the censorship, the President could forbid importation to this country of the products of whatever industries are affected. As the disputed illegal use of the censorship looked to the raising of a tariff wall against neutral commerce, and as this wall would be laid by industries rather than by individual companies, American retaliation would be pushed as far as desired. 