Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-05-28
THE STRUGGLE FOR
FREEDOM AT SEA
This Country May Re-establish the
Principle for Which the Dutch
Republic Fought Great Britain in
Four Terrific Naval Wars.
By DIR, HENDR1CK WILLIAM VAN LOON
tBy Special Advancement with the Boston
Tranacript.)


winds driven in the direction of Dover. There
he met with British fleet under command
of Blake Between the two countries Eng
land and Holland, there was no state of war.
Upon this particular occasion. Admiral
Tromp, to avoid all possible misunderstanding,
struck all HIS sails Except the topsalls) when
he came near the British feet and made
ready to salute by lowering his orange PEN
nant The British Admiral, not satisfied with
this preparation. expressed his feelings by flr-
ing n shot which mortally wounded Dutch
soldier. Tromp thereupon ordered boat to
proceed to the ship of the British Admiral and
ask for an explanation. Before the explana-
tton could be given a bullet had hit his ship
in the centre. Remembering his instructions.
Tromp satisfied himself with a defensive ac-
tion and after five hours quietly sailed home
to report.
The Conflict Yet to Come
The first battle of modern times for the
right to the open sea had been fought The
last one is yet to come
Now 1t happened in the year 1904 that
Jacob van Heemskerck (famous as one of
the earliest Arctic eXplorers) had taken n
Portuguese vessel somewhere in the East
Indies About the cargo of this vessel (worth
several million gulders) a lawsuit had sprung
up. The directors of the East India Company
asked young attorney to assist in the de-
fensc. This young man. Grotius by name, set
to work and wrote a huge tome This, how
ever, he never published. But one short chap
ter entitled Mare liberum' and containing the
chief items for the Defense was printed in
pamphlet form. In this chapter Grotius
claimed the right Of all nations to communi-
cate freely with each other on water. This
pb bn tba .
humanity and at the same time denied that
any one single nation was allowed to declare
herself by a stroke of the pen the rightful
sovereign and owner of the limitless ocean.
This argument, although ostentatiously di-
rected against Spain and Portugal, was i'll re-
ceived in England. The latter country re-
garded herself as the exclusive owner of all
the fishing and navigating rights in the North
Sea, up to the coasts of France Belgium
Holland Denmark and Norway. To
have legal ground for this contention no
one less than John Selden was set to work
and in his de Mari clause with the help of
the 2Sth verse of Chaptr | of the Book of
Genesis (wherein God gives Adam the domin-
ion over the fish of the sea- and great deal
of ancient and modern learning, Seden ar
gued that since countries could own land
they also could own water-that an ocean can
defended the British demand that foreign
ships salute and allow themselves to be
searched by British men-of-war
From the middle of the 18th century on
the issue between the two countries was clear
On the one side England, with her claim
to sovereignty over the bllowy highways OF
the nations.
On the other side the Dutch Republic
which demanded that these roads should be
open to all those who wished to use them for
Just and lawful purposes
In four terrific naval wars the Dutch Re-
public tried to establish her good right to
sail and trade she pleased. That she was
not driven into this conduct by unselfish rea-
sons of speculative legal nature alone is
quite clear. Her demand for her natural right
coincided with her direct commercial inter
ests.
International Joy-Riding
But without any doubt she had the right
on her side, and. although these four wars
for the open completely exhausted her,
the principle laid down by Grotus was finally
recognized by all civilized nations. Hollands
sacrifice had not been in vain. Now we are
In the year 1915. The work of centuries has
been undone in eight months. The North Sea
once more has been proclaimed the exclusive
property of the warning nations. Without any
regard for the rights of neutrals, all parties
literally sprinkle their mines upon the high
roads OF commerce. Like so many sharks Ger
man submarines shoot rapidly through the
waters and gobble up whatever they can find
If they discover that in the hurry of the
moment they destroyed the wrong fish, a
Swedish or Dutch or Norwegian ship, they
say: Sorry. 1t was a mistake" and promise
some future indemnity, which does not make
dead men alive.
On the other hand, England blockading the
German coast at a distance of 5000 miles
drives all neutral ships into her harbors.
keeps them there, talks about them, writes
about them wastes much red tape upon them
does some more writing, and finally let's them
go after the cargo has been thoroughly
spoiled.
French and English prize courts have ap-
parenty decided that all Norwegian, swed-
sh, Danish and Dutch ports are disguised
suburbs OF the German empire, and the diff
hcultes of the trade between those coun-
.r1es and the rest Of the world (even with
heir own colonies and the products OF their
,wn possessions) is such that the trade may
,ome to a complete standstill at any time.
Against this international joy-rlding Ga |
vulgar expression but who will give me a
better oneO the small neutral nations have
10 redress. The odds are too great. They are
defenseless.
At last, however, clear and decisive
word has been spoken. From the West a dec
aratlon of principle has gone forth which
europe cannot well afford to misunderstood.
The neutral nations, their harbors filled |
With idle ships, their cities crowded with un-
mployed their accumulated wealth going TO
uin through no fault of their own, deprived
Il their legitimate right to use the high seas |
vttbout foreign interference have taken new /