The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1915-07-02

army on land. "a small army and
practically no navy" was the position
of Mr.. jefferson and the early dem
ocratic party. And in 1860, we had
the largest merchant marine and
and practically no navy. The ad-
vocates of a strong central govern
ment want a monarchy disguised as a
Republic, as said by Gibbon Of Rome
in the reign of Augustus. They want
a strong army and a strong navy, and
they secretly want a strong army to
war upon American Institutions and
the American people.
/ have said it is fortunate that Mr..
Wilson receded from his first position.
l will explain the reason. The intelli-
gent student is filled with admiration
at the transcedant ability displayed
by Mr.. Jefferson, as Secretary of
State, in the war between France and
England. The difficulties then were
a hundred fold greater than now. We
were young and weak and France pre-
sumed upon our friendship. Mr.. JEFF
ferson laid down principles with such
c~learness and such force that they
established themselves. These prin-
ciples became known as the American
Doctrine and were largely accepted
as a part of the Law Of Nations. One
of these was that "a neutral flag COW
cred neutral goods" Next that "the
destination of the vessels was the des-
tination of the cargo" And that if
this destination was a neutral port,
and "the ultimate destination" of the
cargo was one of the beligerents, that
was a question for the other beliger-
ent and the neutral country, permit
ting the reshipment. Growing out
of this, necessarily, was the doctrine
THAT war between two nations, in no
manner whatever, affected the COM
merce between two neutrals." This
was a principle thoroughly estab-
lished. But during our Civil War,
and the passions then prevailing, the
Supreme Court of the United States,
completely overthrow this American
Doctrine. In the cases of the Spring.
dok and the Peterhoff, they held that
a neutral flag did not cover neutral
goods, and that the destination of the
vessel was not necessarily the desti-
nation of the cargo. In fact, in n
of these cases, they held that the car
go could be seized bound from one
port to another from Liver
pool to Burmuda.) Now England
seizes all of our vessels and their car
COS, bound to neutral ports, and carry
them before her own prize courts. She
invokes the very law that our Su-
preme Court laid down in the Civil
Var, and we are powerless in the
premises. Whereas, under the old
American rule, she would not have
dared to seize u vessels bound to a
neutral port.
So in the last of Mr.. Wilson's first
note. Suppose he could have estab-
lished as a principle, that one belIi-
gerent could not sink a merchant YES
sci, belonging to another b~elligerent,
loaded with munitions Of war,
provided there were neutral passen-
gers aboard, if these could not be
saved. That was his first position,
from which happily he has receded.
Now the United States gets into war,
say with Japan. If this first position
Of Mr.. Wilson's, from which he for
tunately receded, had been establish
ed then Japan had only to send its
merchant vessels to England, load
them with all kinds of munitions of
war, a few Englishmen take pas
sage, and the United States could not
sink these vessels, if it wal impossi-
BILE to sink the vessels and save the
passengers. Our Supreme Court,
the Civil War, rendered a
partisan decision, the operation of
which is, to practically destroy our
commerce. Mr.. Wilson took a posi-
ton, which, if adhered to and recog-
nized, might have rendered the
United States helpless in case of war.
j. d. SHEWALTER.