The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1915-02-20

y04Es o0o bu08 ~ nA8Aea 49, 49,.
pared TO meet the shook. what could
b done three centuriss ago Tor
year % delay . power 90 great a.
Spain then was could - done IN tnis
century far mora effectively.
Today money has become interna-
tionAl because In all civilized coun-
tries Il has gold ~ the common basis.
Credit based on gold II tntsrnationn.
n gold and credit are withheld. the
PHILIPPE Of the future viii not b able
70 supply the armament ana the
equipment and the subsistence neces-
sayy 20 prosecute war. II WIN 20 ar
gued that great power has the re-
sources within IT. own territory TO
maintain fleets and armies. That 10
true TO some degree. but II can never
BE- ultimately true. In this modern
world, with all Of its iuterrelauons.
NO nation can stand alone. Take our
rich Southern states. with . super
abundance OF natural resources; with
Q mild climate that favored their Tor
tunss: with q vslor and . devotion
that have never been excelied-econ-
omic prsssure. quite a. much -
sheer physical exhaustion. brought an
end to the civil war. And the hall
century since that war has brought
q wonderful Knitting together OF all
countries into closer business rela-
tons. The cable, the wireless, the
organisation Of industries. the devel-
opment Of credit facilities have
brought countries together into such
q maze OF interrelations that each OF
them must depsnd On al the others.
Take brief survey Of the worlds
trade. Last year e amounted TO
eighteen billions Of dollars. OF this
the nations now at war had over
half. The United States had Is per
cent. for its share. Thjs trade was
largely financed through the sale Of
securities and the establishment Of
credit relations through the stock ex-
changes of the world. When the war
broke these exchanges closed. In
stantly business was affected. not
merely In the warning nations but N
every country. In the United States
We have had to undergo and are still
undergoing . broad ad1ustment. De-
spite our natural resources and won
derful crops we have had . period OF
depression In this country. three
thousand miles away from the battle
fields abroad. Here II Gaping
demonstration Of the tnterdependence
OF nations. Business has bound them
together In such an infinite network
OF relations that no nation II any
longer - law unto itself"
So why shouldn't business. By that
I mean the organised life OF the world,
protect this great new world Of the
twentieth century that II has 30 large
~ created? And isn't the way to do Il
to provide In future Hague conven-
lions that the punishments TO be Inn
posed ON q nation that breaks ito
pledge to the other nations shall b
thess7
/. A refusal on the part OF the
other nations to trade with the offend.
ing nation.
3. A refusal on the part OF the
other nations to permit loans TO be
made or credits 70 be established
within their borders by the offending
nation.
Here would be economic pressure
Of the most powerful kind. II would
affect subsistence, armament, equip
ment and every side and phase OF
war. II nations felt that they were
going to meet the pressure Of such
an embargo ~ soon as.thsir own re-
sources were exhausted isn't Il fair
70 believe. tAAk Such days IN July -
ana so ana August / OF last year will
not be % ifkely 20 come again In the
calendarf White papers and gray
papers and blue papers Of the future
would have 20 do with .mobilising the
great protective reserves Of com.
merce rather than those Of the army
and navy.
There are those who viii argue that
this would constitute o virtual EN-.
barge and that an embargo has al
ways proved futile. We shall be 70
minded Of our own embargoes IN John
Aadministration In 1874 and
In MadiS6n's administration In 1872.
But believe they are quite beside
the point. Those embargoes were
acts of war declared against q nation
with which we believed war was Inn
Moreover. they were Q hos
tile act on the part Of q single nation.
not q collective decree BY . group OF
nations against nation that had
failed to keep pledge. And beyond
all else the world Of century ago II
not the world OF today.
Commerce has changed II utterly
and forever. Az commerce has grown
has grown. Both stand
Tor broad human rights. And human
rights constitute An international
force.
OF course. the one apparently
strong and valid reason against such
pressure IN that II would
bring great loss to- the commerce Of
The nations applyins II. But that loss
would be- far less than the loss
brought BY war. And there would
be no loss whatever II war were
avoided.