The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-21
WAR ECHOES

Louisville Courier-Journal: Great Brit ain, Russia and the United States cannot be accused of nasty or ill., considered action in addressing TolSlo in plain words in regard to the demands upon China. In the circumstances, the 1 time has passed when these powers could be expected to remain longer silent be- I cause of ignorance as to the exact text | of thosedemands. Such information as has emanated from Pekirg concerning the Japanese proposals has been of a sort to challenge serious attention both in Great Britain and the United States. l Tolxio has not chosen to deny the yer sion of the demands prirted in China and given to the world. This cannot be taken, of course, as confirmation of the truth | of that version but the demands there cataloged so far overreached the powers understanding concerning China that we could not be expected to allow the matter to drift further in the absence of such denial. Add to this certain military ges- lures in Japan, and the occasion for com munieations from the powers becomes plain and immediate.
 1 It is understood that the proposals as at first published in China have since been modified; to what extent this mcdi- l fication has gone, however, is not known l so that the powers are more in the dark than ever. In this circumstance, Great Britain did the only thing possible in an- | nouncng that if Japan's demands are pushed beyond those contained in her original communication to the powers, it would be difficult ''to negotiate with her Automatically in the future." The United States, after considerable effort to get at the actual status of affairs, has spoken in equally plain terms concerning the threat ened infringement of Ter treaty with | China.
 l Japans insistence all along that the secret part of the negotiations concerns herself and China only is not sufficient to support her silence in the face of the published reports in China. The only thing that will satisfy the powers now is l either the retraction of the demands or official evidence that they have been shaped in consonance with treaty agree ments and international policies concern ing China.
 St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Let us as a foundation for judgment get the nature and effect of the British order leveling German commerce on the ocean clearly in our minds.
 We admit the right of Great Britain and her allies to blockade all German ports if they have the power
 In the event of actual blockade, wsich may be accomplished by the use of suffi cient naval power to stop merchant ships, the allies would have the right to do all that they want to do under the an- nounced embargo, with this differences they would have the right to confiscate or destroy neutral ships and cargoes at- l tempting to run the blockade.
 We ourselves ruled during the civil war that neutral ships sailing to neutral ports with cargoes that might be destined for the enemy are seizable. We seized ships under this rule. Great Britain in this re- spect is merely following our ruling.
 Under the embargo the allies declare that they will only seize neutral ships end send them to prize courts or sell their cargoes for the benefit of owners and release them.
 we may protest the empargo on the ground of illegality-bearing in mind that Germany as we'll as Great Britain Is vio- lating international law-and get some- thing worse in the form of blockade. for the enforcement of which the allies have sufficient sea power.
 Certainly. we should stand on legal grounds and our rights with both pars,es to the quarrel, but how far shall we press
 technical legal points which would re-
 suit in greater hardships for us than ex-
 isting conditions?
 Where no fundamental principle is in-
 volved in international dealings the ques-
 ton of advantage usually prevails.
 We confront an alliance with sufficient
 sea power to accomplish it's ends under
 any rule of international law. Shall we accept the logic of the situation and tske
 the easier way. or insist upon our legal right to harsher treatment? Our chief concern is to ,...nimIze the tis- asters of wa" conditions and to keep cut . of the scrap with honor