White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1915-12-05
SHALL THERE BE
A NEUTRAL COALITION?


before our people the great problem
of what our government may do, no;
only for the protection OF our own
people but in the cause of humanity,
during the terrible struggle which is
going on in Europe. The lull in sub
marine warfare since President VIII
sons diplomatic correspondence with
Germany and the apparently sue
cessful issue of the emands of our
government, received a rude shock
when the news Of the disaster in the
Mediterranean reached this country.
Il matters very little TO our people
whether the "Aneona' was destroyed
By a German or an Austrian subma-
rine. The odium which attaches to
this crime is SO great and the temper
of our people is such that they care
very little TO which of the Central
powers this attack is 10 be attributed.
The administration is bound to in
vestigate the facts in the cas- before
taking any action in the matter. Its
attitude will be necessarily guided
by the legal aspects of the case as
revealed By the investigation,
through our foreign representatives,
bur in the eyes of the American peo-
pie such revelations are not apt to
affect the moral responsibility for
such a crime.
Americans have been asking them
selves whether the administration
has done what Ii could in the cause
of humanity in the struggle which
is going on. Opinions in this matter
differ. Many have claimed that the
administration missed a golden OPP
potunity in not entering a protest at
the time of the Belgian invasion. IL
should be remembered, however, that
this act took place so suddenly and so
without warning that our people were
almost stunned by the news that was
received and the proposition of en-
tering a protest was apparently not
thought of until after the time when
it could with propriety have been
done.
Furthermore. doubtless the admins
istration was embarrassed in this d.
rection by its intense desire that our
people should maintain an attitude of
neutrality. However that may be,
and whether such a protest would or
would not have had any effect upon
subsequent events, the question which
now presents itself is. can our gov
ernment at this time take any mea-
sures which will serve to assure the
conduct of the war upon more hu-
manitarian lines than have been ad-
hered to in the past.
In our eyes, the disasters which
have occurred at sea are not as great
as the horrors that may easily be APP
pretended through aerial raids. The
loss of life through these adventures
have fortunately been singularly few,
but the fact that the victims have
been largely peaceful civilians, in
Guiding women and children, has
caused them to be lookel upon with
special horror. The dropping of
bombs upon such cities as Paris and
London seems to those living In a
neutral country to be particularly
fragrant. These raids, so far, have
only served to produce a feeling of
hatred and to aid the recruiting SER
geant.
No n will deny the Legitimacy of
such adventures in the destruction of
ammunition works, railroad juno
tions where troops are being trans
ported, military headquarters or
other stations of war, but the EFFORT
to destroy the lives of peaceful cit
liens is not easily comprehended.
Our people may open the morning pa
pers almost any day to discover that
some great horror has been commit
leu dSdilDt LnS t1ty VI lfoHdOH. II
would be a difficult matter for our
president to make d formal protest
against such raids, owing TO the fact
that retaliation by the allies by mean
of this form of warfare has already
taken place. The dropping of bombs
upon the neutral city Of Luxembourg
was not only unfortunate, but was a
reprehensible act which renders the
suggested protest embarrassing for
our government. The attacks upon
Venice and Verona have, however,
filed the civilized world with indig-
nation. and these acts are likely u
continue unless some pressure is
s brought to bear which the central
powers a be made to understand.
The opportunity Of protest at the
time Of the invasion Of Belgium has