Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-10-27

hunger. to impoverish it-these things
move pity. But wal. ~ 1t has been OBJ
served. IL brutal business, and while the
neutral may be moved by contemplating
It's horrors and may with propriety try to
mitigate them, no neutral may or should
Interfere in what. is clearly not its con-
Germ. To do so. 1 repeGt-and 1t cannot be
TOO often repeated because Of the erron-
eous views entertained-is to strip the
neutral of neutrality n make him An
ally.
The cry raised by Germany that it is
inhuman, and against all precedent in
civilized warfare, to starve the noncom-
Blatant population, I deny on three
.~ErOundS.ss .
Third. 1 deny that . blockade to prevent
a civilian population obtaining food II
without precedent in modern warfare: and
for that precedent I refer the reader to
the American civil war. President Lin
coins blockade OF the c0nfedcracy had 4
double purpose: to prevent the exporta-
ton of cotton. which was the only means
by which the south could raise money;
and to prevent the importation of food
stuffs, medical supplies. and articles Of
military necessity.
When Lincoln Starved England.
In all history there is no greater lover of
humanity than Lincoln, no man with n
ac0At ulOTe teI1O0T, no man Wltn q deeper
love for his fellow man; and yet Lincoln
put In force a blockade that slowly but
surely strangled III south; that paralyzed
1t financially and brought its people to
know the meaning OF hunger. He did this
because of his humanity: because, terrible
as were the sufferings of the south, they
were less dreadful than slaughter and the
human wleckage of war.
H. Hunaanesns.IAneoin was. his blockade OF
the south brought untold misery to Eng
land. The English factories, unable to
obtain cotton. were forced to close down;
hundreds OF thousands of operatives
starved,-and I use the word in no rhetor-
ical sense. They starved. Women and lit
tie children went hungry and died because
there was nc work for them and they
could not procure food. tn north was
not spending millions OF dollars a day in
England in the purchase Of munitions, as
England is doing today In America: trade
with the south was cut off: the war, i'm
stead Of making England rich, left her
poorer: the wretched creatures who died
because the looms OF Lancashire were si-
always pay in time OF war. All these
things Lincoln knew. and he was sorely
gfteved. but 1t did not swerve him.
The civil war lasted four years. How
long would 1t q v lasted had the per-
nicious doctrine Of 1.-The freedom of the
seas" been q principle Of international
law in 1881? Out Of the ports Of the
southern confederacy would have sailed
the merchant marine Of the world loaded
with cotton. which would nave been ex-
changed for the food the south craved and
the guns and the powder the south SO
sorely needed, and under the theory of
private property rights the navy Of the
kCysekipssonsaalhkes 81 sfxllass. It would
have been the salvation of the south.
just as today II would be the salvation az
Germany.
Does anyone believe that II Germany
had been able to destroy the British fleet,
and the coasts Of England were under
blockade and her people were being re-
duced to surrender by starvation, Ger
many would be the champion OF the free
dom Of the seas?" Germany has openly
%noun that that Is what she is at
tempting to do-to starve England into
surrender. That. she has said. ia the pur-
pose Of her submarine warfare-to cut Off
the food supplies Of England, Great Brit
ain not being self-sustaining and hayins
to rely on other countries to feed her neo-
pie.
''Frssdoxnsof' ssas" Means More Krupp.'
Germany having met defeat on the sen.
low invokes the aid of the neutral nations
to bring about 1.-The freedom Of the seas"
Having been unable to destroy the BRIT
AoAA ssN"J W .AbA FAC WOOxO destroy lt9
usefulness by diplomacy. -s
This lie the explanation Of Germany,s
anxiety to secure 1.-THE freedom of the
seas" and liz the meaning Of the propa.
ganda now being carried on in the Unit,
ed States. II blockades are no longer
sanctioned and so-called private prop-
erty' rights In cargoes are recognized.
Germany. after the conclusion OF peace.
need spend less money on her navy and
have very much more to spend on her
army, on building even larger guns thar
those she row has. and reating greater.
reserves Of arms and ammunition than
she had when war was declared last year.
But 1T is a principle that the serious and
matured thought OF neither the United
States nor Great xBEtain wiusAcpept. as It
would UNNECESSARILY weaken the defensive
power of bot, countries. would mean
the reckless abandonment of q weapon
on which bosh alton must rely for de.
tense.