The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-07-12


ond Class Mail Matter.
Kicking Germany, Patting England
Thanks to American diplomacys mistakes.
Germany's reply to our governments last
note apropos the sinking OF the Lusitania ana
Gernany's submarine warfare on merchant yes
sells belonging to her enemies is, in the main.
unsatisfactory. In other words, Germany re-
fuses to relinquish her one effective weapon
against England's gigantic and smothering sea
power, even though it is used in violation Of in-
ternational law and sometimes at the expense OF
the lives and property of neutral nations as long
as England is permitted in her way to break in
ternational law and sacrifice the lives and prop
erty Of neutrals with impunity
England and not Germany is responsible for
the strained relations existing between Germany
and the United States today. Months ago, be-
cause the German government took upon itself
to regulate the distribution Of the food supplies
Of the empire in order to eliminate waste and
to prevent unpatriotic spectators exacting blood
money out of their fellow-citizens' necessity
through war prices, England declared q food
blockade on Germany. The British navy was to
see to it that no foreign food supplies arrived in
Germany either through German ports or
through neutral ports adjacent to Germany. This
was direct and vicious assault on the part OF
England not only upon the rights of the nom
belligerent women and children of the German
empire, but also upon the rights OF such small
neutral countries as Holland, Denmark, Norway,
and Sweden. 1t was, furthermore, in direct vio-
laton of the letter and spirit of international law
This was not surprising, however, as Premier
Asquith had already announced in parliament
that neutral nations need not expect Great Brit
or al; +o fho n;H ~ ;nka
national law.
Germany retaliated in kind. She warned neu-
trail nations as we'll as her enemies, that after
certain time her submarines would commence
destructive warfare against the merchant ships
of England and other allied nations.
The United States government protested
against interference with it's overseas commerce
by England and her German food blockade and
it likewise protested to Germany against the sub
marine warfare on merchant ships, warning Ger
many particularly that serious consequences
would follow if American lives were lost re-
suit of the submarine warfare. Germany at the
time replied that if the United States would use
it's good offices to persuade England to return to
the observance of the letter and spirit of interna
tional law by giving up her food blockade and
ceasng to interfere with the commerce of neu-
trail nations such as Holland, Denmark Norway
and Sweden Germany in turn would give up her
submarine warfare. The United States, howev-
er, refused to do this claiming that 1t might
"embarrass" England. Presumably England's
embarrassment would have been occasoned if,
after Germany's proposition had been brought to
her attention through official notice from our
government, she had refused it under the as
sumption that her food blockade of Germany and
the adjacent neutral nations would be more eff
fective in bringing final victory to her than the
submarine warfare would be in bringing Ger
many ultimate triumph. Had England, there
fore, been compelled to officially receive and re-
fuse, through the United States, Germany's prop
osition, she would have been directly and publicly
responsible for all the horrors that have followed
in the wake of German submarine warfare. As it
is, however, thanks to the American brand of
craftsmanship, England is able now to hide her
culpability.
Months before the Lusitania was destroyed
and over hundred American lives were lost
thereby and our peremptory note was despatched
to the German government, the United States
government had officially protested in specific
terms to England on account of the large number
Of American vessels she had seized and, with
their valuable cargoes, amounting altogether to
an estimate of $5O,OOO,O0O was holding indefi-
nitely in British ports to the serious impairment
of our commerce and prosperity. Not until after
the Lusitania affair, months after it had received
our protest, did the British government deign to
make reply and then its reply was wishy-washy
statement Of how careful the British government
had been in selling these American boats and
H.. ~