TaÌˆgliche Omaha tribuÌˆne. [volume] (Omaha, Nebr.) 1912-1926, 1915-01-29
Dr.. Bernhard Dernburg Strikes High Note.
wsrdhDsH Have No Right on a-Puposa to Restrict Men-oLwnrt to Territorial waters Ocean
10 be Neutral

ANAtANofy VI ONHNAA VI NHkH H~EAtihltEG9
parts Of the world Is a casus brili
While It may be therefore perfectly
legitimate 10 patrol, for the sake Of
I security, the coasts Of every country
within its territorial waters, there Isl
on the other hand, no fundamental
principle that can be recognized for
any p%atrolling outside Of these ter.
ritorial watrcs. 1t ID precisely like
sending troops into foreign territory.
1t is a free sea- that we are an
fighting for, the United States as
well as Germany. as Russia, as Ser.
via. II is j closed and bottled no
sea that Great Britain tries TO hold
and force upon the rest OF the world
How can this end Be brought
about3 Nominally the sucz canal IS
neutralized, but it Is under British
guns. The Dardanelles are under
Turkish guns. The strait Of Gibraltar
Is under the guns OF the fortress Of
that name. The British channel is
stopped up by the British with the
help OF the neutralizsd Low Coun.
tries. The Baltic is blocked in the
Sound. The only truly n~eutralized
waterway, the Panama canal Is un.
der the practical command Of Ber-
muda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Barba-
dos, Trinidad and Georgetown, seven
British naval bases in It's immediate
vicinity most Of them closer to the
Panama canal than is the United
States, The Red sea is bottled up
by Alden and the island OF Perrin
and the strait Of Singapore by that
city.
One might try to secure the neces-
saty freedom by the naturalization
Of all these waterways, Indispensable
to free shipping, but we know that
such naturalization treaties have only
a very frail existence. As Lord
Derby said in 1856 regarding the
Belgian neutrality treaty, he took
very little stock in papers Of that
kind On the other hand, Francis
Lynde Stetson quoted three days ago
Lord L~ansdowne the leader OF the
Conservative party in Great Britain,
as follows:
He (Lord Eansdownc) remarked
quietly to his colleagues in the
house OF lords that sooner or
later the nations would have to
decide 10 what extent a ~belligerent
power, controlling narrow waters
which form a great trade avenue
for the commerce OF the world,
was justified in entirely closing
such an venue in order to facilitate
the hostile operations in which
that power might find itself in
volyed. And, enlarging til inquiry
TO all its philosophic bearings, he
observed, Just as public opinion
in any country would be slow to
tolerate arrangements under which
a local trade dispute might have
the effect of paralyzing the whole
industrial life OF the country, so
public opinion among the great
nations would be slow to tolerate
a state OF things Under which a
local conflict involving only two
powers would be allowed to create
such serious detriment and dis
turbance to the whole trading COM
munity OF the world"
So it may be questioned whether
the end sought can be reached by
measures OF that kind with any
degree Of safety in times Of war.
Forbid Wsrships the Sea.
The other alternative would be to
forbid the high seas to nen-of-war
Of any nation whatsoever, to relegate
them to the territorial waters and
permit only such small cruisers as
are necessary to avoid privateering.
If hat should be done the world
as it is divided now would come to
a permanent peace. The safety of the
countries would rest on their home
defense, no danger of invasion need
be anticipated by any nation, every
nation could develop freely its peace
full intercourse without being afraid
at any time OF being forced and
stopped by a superior power, the
enormous outlay for naval armament
could be used for peaceful purposes,
and ii, as a necessary consequence OF
such a measure, battleships, cruisers
and submarines should become use
less and have to be "scrapped,"
scrap" theml Would it not be bet
ter to destroy this investment than.
to continually threaten and impair
the peace, the development and the
freedom of mankind?
s~F