New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-11-09

Germany had mastered British sea power
as Britain mastered the German subme-
rine campaign, Great Britain could afford
TO follow the German example and pre-
sent Mr. Wilson with another great diplo-
matte triumph" But the fact is quite
the opposite.
We Americans must make up our minds
that. law or no law, Great Britain Will not
now relax her grip on the German throat
Rightly or wrongly. she believes that Ger
many is approaching exhaustion. She be-
lieves that few more months Of blockade
will win the war. Not even the inconven-
fence of the embargo would overweight the
advantage of the blockade. We must face
the fact that Great Britain intends to go
on her course, illegal and immoral as 1t
seems to US
In this situation we can't fight Great
Britain. even if we wanted TO fight her,
without reducing one more treaty to the
estate of "scrap of paper We can't
n exc the embargo effective without practl-
carly breaking off all friendly relations not
alone with Great Britain and her colonies,
but with most of the nations whose ports
are open to seaborne traffic. In word,
Mr. Bryan's peace treaty has tied us hand
and foot, however anxious we might be TO
act as well as pose as the champion Of
neutral rights and of the freedom of the
seas"
The thing that we would not do in the
case of Germany when life, not property,
was at stake. and no arbitration treaty
held us back we can hardly do now in the
case of Great Britain. We have not OBJ
tanned the disavoyal of the murder Of our
citizens. We did not persuade Germany
to stop numbering them. The cessation was
solely incident to the British success in
abolishing the submarine from the North
Sea and the Channel.
Our note to Great Britain is good law
and good sense. 1t is firm, where we are
justified in speaking firmly, but ii is just
one more case of words, because we have
deliberately elected to employ only words
in our foreign disagreements, and in the
case of Great Britain signed treaty COM
pelling us to 90 no further. England may
seize our ships, restrict our lawful trade,
do whatsoever she chooses to hinder our
business. and our only redress is arbitra-
ton in the distant future with the promise
Of some repayment to the grandchildren of
the losers.
Mr.. Wilson's present communication is
one more document worthy of note in any
court of law and deserving the attention
Of British jurists and international arbi-
traitors. But it won't persuade the Brit
h to let our commerce alone, because it is
backed by no force and can be backed by
no force. Even an embargo ordered in
January, 1916, would be relatively harm
less to the British, whose own industries
will be modified for munition manufact-
ure by that time.
In the existing situation we are helpless
and have accepted the helpless role with
out protest. We have not only declared
ourselves "too proud to fight" in the case
Of our dead, murdered by Germany, but
we have bound ourselves over to keep the
peace, at our own expense, with the Brit
Iish. If England thinks the blockade worth
the price of an embargo we have no re-
course save at law. 1t would be noble of
the British to meet our wishes at the risk
of losing the war, but such nobility is not
to be expected. Otherwise, the worst we
can do is to abuse the British by word and
the best to hold our tongues and endure
the consequences of our own pacifist folly
expressed If Heaven only knows how
many Bryanic treaties.