New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1915-07-14

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Burk.
LUTHERAN SYNOD PETITIONS
PRESIDENT.
b At their meeting in St. Paul last week
the Evangelical Lutheran Synod pre-
pared petition to the President in re-
gard to the expectation Of arms to the
warning nations that states their po-.
sition in good, strong terms. It is q
strong plea for an embargo on arms
especially. Here it is:
ITO the President of the United
States"
We, citizens of the United States and
pastors and delegates to the Annual
Convention of the Minnesota District of
the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of
Ohio and other states, reaching approx
mately 100000 souls, unite in earnest
protest against the expectation from this
country of arms and ammunitions for
use in the present European war, and
for Christian and humanitarian reasons
respectfully petition you in the cause of
justice to place an embargo on all arms
and ammunition, or, if you do not believe
this to be your power, to call at once an
extra session of Congress to invest you
with such power. We base our petition:
First, on international Law
Woolsey in his book of International
Law says, IF the neutral, instead Of
wheat, should send powder OF. balls,
cannons or rifles, this would be q direct
encouragement of the war and show
departure from neutrality" ~.
Second, on precedent
A., of the United States: In 1913
President Taft issued proclamation
forbidding the export of arms and
ammunition to Mexico, and in 1918,
you likewise placed an embargo on such
shipments to Mexico. :.
b., Of England: England has law
comforting on the king discretionary
power to forbid the export of arms and
ammunition, and on April 3rd, 1898,
when we were at war with Spain, Eng
land warned British subjects against any
'unneutral act, among which were EMU
merated the supplying of arms and
ammunition, military stores or. material.
C. of Germany: During the Spanish
American war, Germany also, upon the
mere protest of our ambassador, Andrew
White, stopped. the sale of arms and
munitions of war to Spain.
D., of other neutrals at the present
time: Every neutral country at the
present time, except the United States,
has placed an embargo on munitions of
war. s,.,..@.sg
Third on Justice
On August LIST, 1914; you issued. a
noble document in which you wrote,
Eve must be neutral in fact as well as
in name, and we must put curb on
every transaction which might give
preference to one party in the struggle
over another"
In spite of our neutrality, the vast
resources of our country are in fact
trained to the utmost to help one party
only. It is calculated that about 100, 900
Germany soldiers have been killed.. and
two or three times that many wounded
by American arms and ammunition.
The mountains of hatred which these
mountains of bloody neutrality shells,
pile up in the land of our oldest friends
and best customers, will all have to he
levelled some day by American mer-
chants.
While international Law does not
forbid our explorations of arms and am
munition, our neutrality certainly does
not demand it; fairness, humanity and
Christianity demand that the bloody
business be stopped at once.
We unanimously petition your Ex-
cellency to be consistent with yor call
to prayer for peace and your appeal to
humanity in your recent notes to Ger
many, by stopping at once the shipment
Of all supplies from this country.
Committee of resolutions:
VIM. Schmidt,
Carl Granschow,
Shakopee, MINI.
J.Vollmar, LIE Mars, la. "
TIL FOR ACHING;