Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-08-21

In our splendid isolation from the
scenes Of devastating war in Europe
we Americans may declare ourselves
untouched by danger of becoming IN
volved in the sanguinary conflict by
which the Old World countries are
seeking each to take the others life.
If every nation sacredly observed
its obligations, this might be so; but
we have seen within the last few
days the utter worthlessness of
treaties when the war chant sounds
and the war lust swells the veins OF
jealous powers.
This may or may not affect US. we
have no cause for quarrel with any
of the belligerents. Our ways are the
ways of peace There is danger now,
however, even in the ways of peace.
Tolstoi in his startling prophecy Of
a general war in Europe, drew pic
ture of naked siren, with gems in
her hair Turing nations on to death.
He called her Commercialism The
figure is a striking one, nut who can
say IL is not Just? Trade has caused
good part of the worlds wars, first
and last. 1t is trade, business com
mercialism, whatever you wish, that
is at the bottom of the present gen.
eral upheaval in Europe.
Granted that the spirit of mischief
follows in the wake of trades gall
Icons how is a powerful and neutral
nation like ours threatened in time
of general war? Thus early in the
present struggle, before the causes
of contention and methods of proceed
ure have clearly shaped themselves,
one cannot say that the United
States is threatened at all. Yet there
are reasons why we should walk
straight and prayerfully. As neutral,
we must see that we deal fairly with
all the belligerents who may come
| into contact with us through their
needs, that no cause for offense is
given any of the Powers whose
| nerves are likely to be rendered SUI
| persensitive by the strain OF war,
and still that our trade rights are
| preserved.
In view of the past, we shall do
well if we keep our skirts clear of
| the wheel of Fate that is now whirl-
| ing so madly in Europe. When the
| last great general war was holding
! the stage in Europe We We're sucked
! into it by the course of events as
surely as a drifting boat is sucked
| into a whirlpool, Our war of 1912
was as much part OF the European
| conflict as If we had made war on
! Great Britain as the avowed ally of
France, although we had almost as
great a grievance against France as
against England. Our ambition for
unrestricted trade, and desire TO fol-
low it peacefully, was employed by
| Napoleon as a weapon with which to
strike England. Without Napoleon
on the world stage 1t is doubtful If
we should have fought England a
second time.
The immediate cause of the war Of
1912, we are told, was the impressment
| of American sailors by the British
navy. The determining causes We're
far deeper and had to dc. with com
merce The Revolution left us free
kpolitically, but not commercially, as
we learned when the Napoleonic wars
began to shake Europe. Then we
found ourselves in bondage and
obliged to fight to secure our freedom.
The course of events that culmin-
ated for us in the War of 1872 is to
be easily traced in the history Of the
period, which falls under three heads.
Controversy between Great Britain
and the United States over the free
dom of commerce. following the Rev.
olution; Great Britain's blockading Of
the European coasts, and Napoleon
retaliatory measures of seiZing every
vessel that did business with England
Under these three heads the Amer
lean foreign carrying trade was ruined
and the position of the United States
as neutral nation destroyed. We
were, in fact, engaged in a commercial
war with England and France from
1906 to 1914. We first enacted meas
ures that hurt ourselves more than
our commercial enemies by putting an
embargo on shipping, forbidding II tc
engage in trade with Europe; next, In