The Washington herald., 1916-05-27
A Vigorous Protest.

Presenting what will appear to German SYM
pathizers at least as tTathful indictment against
Great Britain and France. for illegal interference
with the United States mails carried in vessels
of neutral ownership, the Washington govern
ment has addressed to those at London and
Paris through their Ambassadors, a note suffi-
GENTLY emphatic and ins:stent to satisfy the loud
est demands for the assertion and maintenace
Of American rights the high seas. The Ian
guage employed cannot fail to be irritating to
the two countries whose enemies have been sup
piled with articles of ccntraband sent by mail
from the neutral United States, by neutral
means of transportation; and such irritation will
not be sllayed by the reflection that the COM
munication comes from nation upon whose
soil long series of plots to injure the cause
Of the allies and to destroy the lives and prop
erty OF their subjects have flourished since
the war began.
We have told Great Britain and France that
"the government of the United States, in view
Of the improper methods employed by the Brit
sh and French authorities in interruptng mails
passing between the United States and other
neutral countries and between the United States
and the enemies Of Great Britain can no longer
tolerate the wrongs which citizens OF the United
States have suffered and continue to suffer
through these methods" And we have added
that only radical change in the present British
and French policy, restoring to the United States
its full rights as a neutral power, will satisfy
this government"
In protesting against injury to the property
interests of our citizens such as that resulting to
a large shipment Of plants and bulbs from Hol-
land" which were frozen on the wharves," we
have made OF terms quite as threatening as
were used in protesting against the putting to
death OF a large shipment OF helpless American
women and children who hurled into the
sea by torpedo from a German submarine, and
for which injury We have not yet eXaCted atone
ment. So, surely the Washington government
has satisfied the loudest shouters for American
rights insofar Great Britain and France
concerned. Perhaps, too, the German govern
mcnt may infer that VIC have begun to comply
with the implied conditions upon which she
promised 20 the murder OF Americans.
Since there may be technical justification for
emphatic protest by the United States against
interference with its mails, the British and
French governments will be compelled if not dis
posed to pocket some OF the irritation and re-
sentiment they must fccl and continue diplo-
matte discussion; for one, not even the mem
hers OF the administration. will expect a prompt
yielding to all Of our demands. And in spite Of
the assumption in our nctc of the guilt OF the
two bolligercnts they have not yet pleaded
guilty, and tho question is still susceptible OF
argument by high authorities IN international
law. The British blockade is a factor in the
controversy, and in defense of that elastic pol
icy the allies have many more arguments to ad-
vance than the long list of attempted justihca-
tons OF her methods OF submarine warfare Of
fcrcd by Germany in her numerous replies to our
numerous notes
As for the great majority OF Americans, they
will wonder at attitude of hostility toward
Great Britain and France because OF the dctcn-
tion OF our mail bags, when we were silent about
the American mail bags that were sent by the
Germans to the bottom OF the sea with the
American women and babies The technical dif-
ference that the Lusitania and the Arabic were
noncombatant vessels owned in belligerent coun-
tries, while Great Britain and France have de-
tanned for inspection American mails carried on
vessels owned in neutral countries will not
weigh heavily with those Americans who regard
the cold-blooded, deliberate murder of women
and children a greater crime than petty lar
ceny.
There will be no great patriotic rallying
about the administration upon the issue that its
note may make acute