The Washington times., 1915-12-10
SENATOR SMITHS SPEECH

Senator Hoke Smith lost no time
in Numbering his oratorical guns
and opening his bombardment of the
British naval policy toward neu-
trails. This has been pet theme Of
the Georgian for many months. Time
was when he was peculiarly inCensed
because Great Britain was running
the Southern cotton planter. He
wanted most extreme measures
taken to compel Britain to let our
cotton go freely to any market Of
the world; and he was confident that
ruin impended in the cotton country
unless this should be done.
While the Senator was hammering
home these expressions of alternat-
ing gloom and belligerency, the
price of cotton started upward. Be-
fore he had had time to change his
tone, it had gone from the Scent
to the 12-cent level. Calamity is
never a very successful political
doctrine when there is no calamity
in sight; and the calamity issue
melted under the sunshine of 12-cent
quotations.
For a little time thereafter the
Senator was in comparative. quies-
cence; perhaps organizing his STRAIT
cgy for another attack. Now he di-
rects his gunfre against the general
British and allied naval program in
dealing with neutrals. He insists
that American exports to the block
AIDED or Guasi-blockaded neutral
countries have suffered fearfully,
despite that the statistics show that
they have grown phenomenally. He
still insists that Great Britain has
been using her sea power to keep
American business out of these coun-
tries, and then has permitted Brit
ish merchants to occupy the very
market that Americans were not
permitted to enter. This is excellent
argument, if the facts would only
bear it out. They merely do not.
The Times has heretofore presented
with a good deal of detail, from Off
cial sources, the facts about this
traffic. Those same facts are avail
able to anybody VINO wants them
and they constitute the refutation Of
this notion that the allies are shut
ting out neutral commerce and alb.
sorbing it themselves.
Senator Smith can do little more
than embarrass the Administration
of his own party, by giving currency
to such a view. He insists thai
Britain and her allies have gone fsi
beyond the precedents laid down il
the civil war. The Government does
not think so, and people with rea
information, candidly considering al
circumstances, do not think so. HI
says that the blockade Of German!
is paper blockade. The worlC
: knows that it is the most eficien
blockade ever enforced by one bel
/ ligerent against another. Th
, North's blockade of the South dur
. ing the civil war never saw the da,
/ when it compared in efficiency wit
= the present allied blockade of Ger
= many. Yet, though that civil wa
: blockade was constantly puncture
: by runners" the Federal Govern
ment insisted that it was a goo
enough blockade to entitle thi
country to exercise the fullest au
thority ever claimed by the block
aiding power, and indeed to stretc
that authority to new limits.
1t is dangerous statesmanship t
=, make such misleading presentation
of delicate questions. 1t is moreove
: bad politics. 1t has not, by con
mon report, strengthened Senate
q Smith in the confidence of either II
country or his home constituency.
9 pays to be fair; and it cannot cal
= didly be said that the Senator hi
added anything to his repute II
; fairness by his contribution to tn
Il discussion,
|