The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-18
Germany and Cotton Growers


 | It has, of course. come to your knowl-
 edge that the south is being flooded with
 printed circulars urging the recipients to
 agitate and embarrass President Wilson
 in order to force him to make strong representations to the British govern
 ment insisting that Germany be allowed
 to obtain cotton, the basis of all propul-
 sive explosives, through neutral ports.
 These circulars are unsigned, and it Is impossible to tell where they originated. Who bore the expense of printing and dispatching them? Not Senator Hoke
 Smith and his clique of agitatng poli-
 tcans, I think, because they are un-
 signed and one could hardly imagine
 the same politicians sacrificing the free
 advertising such an opportunity affords l These circulars are. of course, part of
 the German propaganda, and HolSe Smith and his disciples either willingly or un-
 willingly are having their legs pulled | I notice in your issue of last Thursday that Georgia's ubiquitous senator is once
 more trying to undermine the friend
 ship of the United States and Great
 Britain, and incidentally boosting the
 cause of Germany by making statements
 that are very much open to criticism 1 He contends that the British blockade
 Is fragrant violation of neutral rights
 How far is he correct in his contention?
 The only precedent we have to go by 1 is the federal blockade of the south in
 the civil war.
 l Bockades previous to the civil war
 prohibited, by the use of naval power,
 goods of every description. no matter by whom shipped, arriving at or leaving a l belligerent port. There was no reason to | intercept goods moving into or from a neutral country, adjacent to the enemy.
 for the simple reason that as there were no railroads. there could be no adequate means of transportation between the
 blockaded country and it's neutral neigh | bor.
 Improved methods of transportation which made a blockade ineffective, on l account of the enemy being able to re-
 cevc supplies through a neutral port. was the condition the United States gov ernment had to face in the civil war Then was born "the doctrine of contin-
 uous voyage"
 Lincoln and his cabinet said "It is O | Confederate ports if it's effectiveness is to
 be neutralized by goods being shipped
 through a Mexican port and so across the Mexican border into the southern states. The same sound argument was | used when goods far in excess of the l needs of the population of the different | British islands, were being shipped from England to these lands, and of course hp tra n oh to th, | states through the medium of blockade runners. Then what happened? The United States applied and enforced their
 new doctrine of continuous voyage, and goods destined for the southern states were intercepted before they reached the neutral ports from which they were to be re-exported. The United States navy seized the British ship Sprngbok while on her way from England to the West Indies that is between two British ports because 1t was claimed that the ultimate destination of the cargo was the Confederate states. Great Britain made no protest because she recognized the fact that the proper function of blockade was to prohibit goods of any kind from reaching the enemy, whether through neutral port or otherwise. To blockade an enemy coast and then allow goods to enter the enemy country, through a nearby neutral port would be about as sensible as fixing a fence around herd of cattle and leav- ing the gate open. It would seem unfair and therefore, un- American. to insist that England discard the American doctrine of continuous voy- age, and ultimate destination especially as this Is the strongest weapon she has against her enemy. 1t must be remem- bered that she is fighting for her life and for democracy, and all that democ- racy implies. It is to say the least of it, sordid request to make that she should, allow Germany to import cotton with which to make ammunition to Ri her sons In order that the price of cot ton may go up in price a little British naval power cleared the seas in order that her commerce and that of her allies might continue. but agiatators like Hoke Smith and the pro Germans. would neutralize the effect of this work which was accomplished with the loss of thousands of British sailors. by allowing Germany's trade to flourish as usual by making convenience of nearby neutral port If Britains navy does not exist for the purpose of crippling the com merce of her enemy, what does 1t exist for? Should these agitators' hopes be fulfilled the British navy might as well be on the scrap heap.
 Senator Smith declares that Great Brit ain did not make cotton contraband This is quite true. but he does not say WHy. Ildu totton DetD put OH the contra band list early in the war the price would have dropped to almost nothing. This would have had the effect of disi coura ging the planting of cotton Ttl should be remembered that the southern cotton planters are as important to Eng land as her own farmers. and 1t will not be denied that the English cotton market Is as important to the southern planters as the American market. With cotton contraband. it could be seized and con | fiscated in exactly the same manner as were contraband goods moving from Eng | land to Mexico during the civil war. but 1 any cotton seized by England. she pre- fers to pay for An eminently generous thing to do. especially as cotton is the basis of all propulsive explosives. The | difference in method between the Germa n | and the British bockades is so pro l nounced that unreasonable demands on England by a nation justly renowned for 1 it's fairness seems almost impossible.
 The difference mentioned between the two blockades is this: Germany sinks frequently without warning all ships. | neutral or British. going or coming from England destroying men. women. chil- l dren. ships and cargoes. England, on the | other hand. takes the cargo. pays for |
 1t. releases the ship and all without the slightest danger to living soul on board | Nothing could be harsher than the Ger