The Washington herald., 1907-04-07

/ 81 u All hAldth upon iNciE COASTS ana
ports in the Baltic by foreign fleets in the
event Of war.
While most Of the European statesmen
who have been questioned about the mat
ter have refused to say anything for pub
ication the minister of foreign affairs for
! Denmark, Count Raben Levetzan. ana the
Danish envoy in London, N. F. de Bile,
have both deprecated, In print, as prema-
/ ture the discussion which is now in prog
ress on the subject IN nearly every capital
( Of Europe 81. de Billie. in letter TO the
London Times, which has given much at
tention TO che controversy. declares that
Denmark is bound by its treaties Of 1851
to maintain the free passage 10 the Bal
/ tic, sans entrave quelconque' chat is to
say, without any obstacle. But a careful
/ examination Of the treaties in question
/ demonstrates the fact that they relate
| exclusively to commercial navigation, and
that they contain. neither directly nor in
directly, any reference TO armed vessels
in time Of war
/ The Baltic has always been considered
F.! By the maritime powers bordering on its
coasts as mare clausum against the exer-
else Of hostillties upon it's waters by other
/ states with whom. that IS, the Baltic
/ powers, are at peace. This principle was
/ proclaimed in the treaties of armed neu-
/ trality in 1870, 1874 and 1890. between
/ Denmark and Sweden. guaranteeing the
/ tranquility Of that sea. In the Russian
/ declaration Of war against Great Britain
/ in 1907 the invielability OF the Baltic. and
the reciprocal guarantees of the powers
/ that border upon it-guarsntees alleged
+ 10 have been contracted with the knowI-
edge Of the British gOyernment-were enu-
/ merated as aggrayations Of the English
/ proceedings in entering the sound and
/ attacking the Danish capital in that year
/ Great Britain IN reply denied that she
/ had az any time scquiesced in the prin-
ciples upon which the inViOlability of the
Baltic is maintained. Although she might
/ az particular periods have f0rborne for
I special reasons 20 act in contradiction
+ 10 them, such forbearance. she insisted
never could have applied but TO "a state
/ Of peace, and she could not be expected
/ 10 recognize them after France. with
whom she was at war, had been suffered
/ By the conquest of Prussia TO establish
.
/ coast, from Dantzig 10 Lubeck
England is. judging from the utterances
I Of her public men and OF her press. Just
as strongly opposed to-day as she was a
/ hundred years ago to any international
! agreement tending TO exclude her feet
/ from the Baltic in the event Of her be-
/ coming involved in war with any Of the
! powers bordering on that inland sea, and
/ II is pretty safe 20 predict that all at
1 tempts 10 apply 10 the Danish Sound and
+ TO the Baltic the same laws that govern
/ navigation IN the DardanelIes and the
] Black Sea viii be resisted to the utter
most by her representatives at the peace
/ conference OF The Hague. Moreover, she
may be relied upon 10 use her influence
/ at Washington TO deter the administra-
/ ton from acting upon the suggestion put
/ forward that the United States, as the
originator of the Baltic Sea treaties of
/ 1897, and as one of their chief signatories.
should. as a cisinterested party. present
I to the congress at The Hague the plan for
I the naturalization of this sea IN time of
war For Great Britain's consent 10 any
/ such international agreement would be
I equivalent 70 a pledge that in the event
: Of her finding herself at war with Ger
/ many, or with Russia, she would refrain
/ from using her immensely powerful navy
Z
/ the one point where her war ships
could be employed for the purpose, name
/ ~, their seaports and coasts.
/ It cannot be denied that there is much
analogy between the DardaneIes and the
Black Sea on the one hand. and the Dam
ish Sound and the Baltic on the other.
/ As In the case OF the Black Sea, the Bal
tic is accessible by straits so narrow that
they form part of the territorial waters
Of the power perched at the entrance.
The waters of the Dardanenes form part
Of the Ottoman empire, which owns the
/ shores on each side. The King Of Den
mark enjoys similar rights OF proprietor
ship over the Danish Sound, not only be-
cause the navigable channels are situated
within the three-lnile limit from the Dan
ish shores, but also by virtue Of ancient
treaties with Sweden For several cen
turtles the Danes were masters OF the
coasts on both sides of the sound, the
province of Scania, now situated in 5wc-
den, having belonged TO Denmark until
1858. Coded to Sweden in that year by
the treaty of Roeskild, it was stipulated
/ in that agreement that Sweden should
never lay any claim TO mastery or own
ership OF the waters of the sound in con-
nection with that cession of Scania In
fact, the Danish sovereignty over the
sound and the two belts which form The
outlet of the Baltic Sea into the ocean
is based upon what might be described
as almost immemorial prescription The
earliest treaties confirming il bear the
date of 1868, wherein the sovereignty of
Denmark was recognized by the Han
seattle Republics In 1870 a treaty of the
same character was concluded with King
Henry VII of England; while in 1874 En-
peror Charles Y of Germany. by treaty
with Denmark, confirms previous agree
ments respecting the tolls paid TO Den
mark by German shipping entering the
Baltic. The Netherlands followed in 1915
with treaty concluded with Denmark Mt
Christianople, and even as late as 1871
England concluded an agreement at Elsl-
more revising the duties payable 10 Den
mark by British shipping passing through
the sound These dues had been paid
until then by the foreign powers to Den
mark. partly by reason of her ownership
of the waters of the sound, partly because
she maintained "a costly and elaborate
system of lighting and buoying Of the
intricate channels. and partly. too, on the
ground that Ia olden times she had made
it her business TO police the straits and
TO clear them Of the pirates who were
wont TO make the entrance to the Baltic
their happy hunting ground
IT was the United States which first
commenced TO take exceptions 10 the
rights which Denmark had enjoyed for