Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-10-27
"Freedonn of the Seas"
Spacious Plea of Germany

Review.
During the last few months our ears
AVE BEEN much belabored with a high
founding phrase. a.-
THE Freedom Of the Seas 10 the latest
~ihibboleth. Serious men and serious pub
acattons have fallen to its charm. and
mere are today many we'll meaning per-
tons. doing their thinking at second hand.
Who are victims to the mischief OF this
,allacious phrase.
Let us begin by clearly understanding
Nations respect international law and the
ode OF morality, the. seas are free to all
me world. The sea ,~4Astbe..Oue great de-
nocracy. 81 there all nations are equal
IND the ocean bestows impartially It's IA
TORS. England. the greatest naval power
n the world. possesses no rights that are
aot enjoyed by Holland, whose naval pow
sr Is negligible; or shared by Switzerland.
whose flag no ocean has seen.
England's naval strength gives her no
advantages over other nations; she Is sub
Fect to the same laws and rules and reg
a%lations; her might does not absolve her
from responsibilities or relieve her from
obligations. THE freedom of the seas
.s. therefore. an expression without mean
ing and without value when conscience
governs, when sanity rules, when moral
lty ls dominant. and nations calls to ma
ton In the voice of friendship. But what
Is the case in time OF war?
G%ermany's Naval Failure.
This phrase would not have been much
heard il German calculations had worked
out successfully. We must state the facts
plainly In order to ascertain the truth.
When Germany plunged Europe into war
q year ago she raliad with IA much .cOpz.
ndence on her navy as or her army; she
was as certc:in that her navy was strong
enough to enable her to keep the sea as
she felt secure in the invincibility OF her
army. Events quickly made her realize
that she had as greatly overrated her own
that OF her opponent.
A Few months after the declaration OF
war the German mercantile nag vanished
from the seven seas; the great German
merchant marine, on which the life OF the
empire depends, had either fallen prize to
the enemy. or was bottled up"tn neutral
ports, or tied up to the deserted docks of
home ports; a hooking memory Of what
once had been Germany's pride. Her ships
OF war, after having given a gallant acc
count OF themselves. were battered and
sent beneath the waves or driven to seek
asylum by internment; her fighting feet,
refusing to fight, IL powerless.
In contrast to the collapse OF German
sea power. her enemy carried out the most
marvellous troop movement the world re-
cords. Hundreds OF thousands OF men,
with their horses. guns n supplies, were
sent from the four quarters OF the globe
to France. Hundreds of thousands of tons
OF merchandise-raw material for manu-
featuring purposes, foodstuffs, military
equipment of all kinds-had entered and
cleared from the ports OF Great Britain
and France And while this was going on.
possible only beSa1sea tho 6eerfnan rnavys
virtually was n~on-existent and the Brit
ish navy held command Of the seas, the
coast OF Germany was laid under block
aoe. the high sea fleet of Germany was
contained" by the British navy, and was
a menace only as a fleet In being must
always be a military danger to be reck-
oned with and guarded against.
TO sum up: Germany. a year after the
declaration OF hostilities, despite the mill
lions she has spent upon her navy, has
seen her destroyed. her ports
closed. her supplies dwindling, her mill
tary strength weakened, her financial po- r.
sition daily growing more precarious. he
cause she can not sell, and what she buvs |
she must pay for in gold at a ruinous
price.
Under these w-its in per.l
haps not surprising that Germany, in her
extremity. should appeal to the sympathy
OF the United States, and clamor for the |
freedom Of the seas .
Purpose Of q Blockade.
War is brutal business, and one of the
brutalities of war liz that the innocent
often suffer almost az much as the guilty: !
the neutral nation, neither responsible for
the war nor having anything to gain by
1t, has its commerce dislocated, it's people !
forced to take great risks and meet heavy
losses.
The purpose Of a blockade is threefold. |
All three purposes are designed to accom-
plish the same end. II the enemy cannot
obtain military supplies. It's Offensive Is
weakened and it's resistance breaks down. ,
II the enemy Is placed on short ration.. !
Its moral and physical strength is i'm
paired. II 1t cannot trade. its financial |
power is crippled. and beggary forces the
surrender OF It's rmlaAsrsasA.
To the emotional. this may sound very
and 1t is very dreadful. S,owlv +.
to strange a nation to death. 10 weaken
It's power OF resistance. TO cnfccblc =; hy !