Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

L
out damage to her position have an
swered otherwise than with the threat
of destroying Germany.
chancellor Won Bethmann-HOll-
wegg's remarks made In the course of
the year outlined German aims with
sufficient clearness. England, there
fore, wants a war of distinctions
war to the knife, which, according to
the plans of our enemies, shall con-
tinue even after the cannon is silenced.
1T is not enough that the world
must be shaken by prOtracted,
bloody war. The world must not even
thereafter enjoy a settled peace if the
will of the entente powers prevails,
for the decisions of the Paris econ
omic conference do not signify an
economic peace, but a permanent econ
omic war, which will never permit the
world to come to rest upon the basis
of peaceful competition.
This shows that the great words of
the entente powers about fighting for
the rights of smaller nations and in
ternational order are empty sounds,
for when Germany's enemies seek to
control neutral trade, they simply ig
more the rights of other countries and
base not on the principle Of right, but
upon pure might, precisely what they
allegedly want to abolish.
Disturbers OF Peace.
THE second year of the war, there
fore, shows that our enemies are pre-
cisely what they all along wrongly
repToached Germany with being;
namely, disturbers of the peace
Russia through her unbridIed passion
! for extending her borders; England,
through being uncomfortable for dom
| mating alone the economic world and
France through her passion for re-
venge.
THE second year of the war further
! proved that it is our enemies who fol-
low the principle of might before
right. They show this in the more
and more reckless violations or the
generally recognized principles of in
/ ternational law by the entente powers,
not only in the struggle against the
central powers, but still more in their
/ treatment of neutrals.
| The American citizen knows what
damage has been inflicted on his trade
brought by the illegal blockade,
through violations of the postal con
ventiOn and other measures of Eng
/ land like that of black-listing firms
Neutral states, yielding TO might,
/ had to submit to many illegal meas
ures. But it is not enough. With the
/ throttling of neutral trade our enc
mics try also to place political letters
upon neutral countries. Portugal, as
\ Englands yassal, even permitted it
/ self to be dragged into the war at the
/ beginning of the year. Other states,
! like Holland, on the other hand. by
energetic precautions against Eng
/ lands maneuvers, have been able to
/ preserve their neutrality.
These violations will also continue
through the third war year and even
| increase unless all signs prove false
| Whether on the neutral side any
| factors are to be thrown into the scale
against this, Germany is continuing
with tenacity the struggle which will
also in the long run prove advantag-
eous to the neutral as shown by their
! experiences with England for the ul-
innate goal of Germany's struggle is
the freedom of the seas Germany's
sea power, which undoubtedly is quite
unpleasant to our enemies. is a coun-
tie rweight to Englands arbitrary dom
ination of the seas, and il will be TO
the advantage of the whole world.
Every human power requires a