Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1916-11-01
PREJUDICE AND REASON.

"Belgiuml" TIE mention Of the
very word brings tears into the eyes
of every pro-Aliied reader of our
AnglO-American dailies. Belgium"
has become a slogan. Our press has
worked hard for two years TO ini-
press upon the public what BEL
GUM" means. Poor little Bel
gium" and her "heroic" sons have
become the pets Of all Angloma-
MACS.
Belgium" stands for German
frightfulness, German barbarism,
German disregard Of International
Law, German violation Of treaties,
German lust of conquest and all the
other epithets that are generally
affixed to the German name. BEL
gium" is also an abbreyiation for
DO not advance any pro-German
argument, you are beaten before you
start and condemned before you are
heard.
And now history plays our
apostles OF hate against Germany
cruel trick. The Allies have seized
the Greek navy as well as the Greek
railways and Notifications. They
are maintaining more severe block
ade of Greek harbors than they
could ever put into effect against
Germany, they have wilfully disar-
ranged the finances OF the little
Kingdom, forced the demobilization
of the Greek army, they are using
Greek territory for their military
operations and have even sown the
seed of discord among the Hellenic
nation.
Greece is no more. OF course,
the land is still there, and it is still
inhabited by people using the Greek
tongue. Yet the free and indepen-
dent Hellas, ruled by a Greek king
and government, according to Greek
ideals, and guided by Greek ideas
has diappeared. And yet we fail to
hear any vigorous protests. On the
contrary, every new humiliation of
Greece seems to cause a murmur of
approval and every new interference
with Greek rights feeling of salts
faction. Every piece of independ-
ence wrestcd from Greece is cele-
brated as an Allied victory.
The public seems to be incapable
of forming an opinion Of it's own.
II allows itself to be led by the press
like a flock OF sheep unable to de-
tect the different treatment accorded
to identical cases prominent
statesman once said that every ma
tion has the press It deserves. If
we are to measure the quality of our
nation by that of our press, we have
every reason to be sorry for our
selves.
The leadership of the press-at
least in as far as the war is concern
Il lie. =
conditionally accepted by men in all
stations of life. or is there any
other explanation for the recent
statement Of Professor Ellery G.
Stowell OF Columbia University,
maintaining that the Allies treat
ment OF Greece can by no means be
classed with Germany's invasion OF
Belgium.
Let us hear what Prof. Stowell has
to say regarding Greece, not because
we expect to learn anything new, but
just to illustrate with the statement
of a professor of International Law
the one-sided and partial manner in
which this question is treated.
"In the first place, it is necessary
to remember that international law
is a practical system. None of its
rules is theoretical. All Of them are
intended to work in actual practise.
Belgium was protected from in
vasion by treaty especially agreed
upon the very act Of which Germany
was guilty In plain English, Ger
many was guilty of treacherous con-
duct.
1T is also true that each state
has right to independence, and
every state must respect that inde-
Dendancc by allowing it to remain
neutra If 1t chooses
Had there been no special treaty
governing Belgium, Greece and Bel
gium would then appear to be on a
par in this particular.
LAS il is, however, Germany at
one and the same time violated Bel
GUMS right to remain out of the
fray, and her solemn promise not to
do the very thing the did do.
There would still have been an
other difference between the cases OF
Belgium and the case of Greece. 1t
is that Germany saw fit to launch a
wal by the invasion of State, which
had done her no harm.
when once a war has begun it is
to be expected that they will COM
pei any State they find necessary to
be with or against them. From a
technical point of view such
course may not be justifiable, but it
is a course which every nation has
pursued.
Il come finally to a third distinc-
tion. The Belgians were a united
people defending their rights. The
allies, from a strictly legal point Of
view, have violated the rights Of
Greece. But, looked at from a
broader point of view, we must take
into account that the Greek people
have sympathized with the Allies"