Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-29

| defense.
| Germany responsible for loss Of American
| lives. War would not necessarily follow
break in diplomatic relations.
| AT MIDNIGHT tonight Germany is to re-
! "A sumo her submarine warfare with new
| fleet of undersea boats.
She has announced her intention of regard
/ ing armed merchant ships as warships for the
reason that no merchant ship in the Atlantic
is armed for any other purpose than to attack
submarines.
The latest unofficial word from Berlin is
that no passenger ships will be attacked
without warning, and that a submarine COM
mander will endanger human lives on such
ships only in case the ship attempts to
escape or to fire on or ram the submarine.
The contention Of the United States is that
merchant ships may carry guns for defense
This contention is based on the common un-
derstandng of international law Guns are
carried by the ships in the China trade to re-
sist attacks of pirates They used to be car.
ried by the ships that entered the Medter-
ranean because the Barbary coast was in.
tested with pirates.
Germany maintains that there are no
pirates in the North Atlantic and that mer.
chant ships engaged in a legitimate trade
have nothing to fear. She asserts that the
provisions of international law do not cover
the conditions that now prevail
Ambassador Bernstorff insists that there is
not and cannot be any such thing as an
armed merchant ship. He further maintains
that the promises which Germany made some
time ago to refrain from attacking merchant
ships have been nuified by secret orders
issued by the British Government to the mer
chant captains to sink submarines on sight
off lty mi I,, gr;,
them.
In this crisis 1t became necessary for the
United States to decide what course it would
follow. The duty of deciding rests upon the
President.
He could consent to a modification of the
long-standing rule of international law which
permits merchant ships to carry guns for de.
fense and make no protest against the course
Of Germany.
The effect of such a decision would be to
give aid and comfort to the Teutonic Allies.
1t would be a definite act of sympathy, be.
cause it would involve our consent to modi-
flcation of the accepted rules of maritime
practice in favor of one begerent and
against another while war was in progress.
On the other hand. the President could pro-
test against any change in international law
and insist on the right of merchant ships to
in the past
The effect of such a decision would be to
favor the Entente Allies. But such a favor
would be only that which lay in the condi-
tions that existed before the war began. 1t
would be the courseSof the strictest neutral
ity, just as our sale of munitions of war to
the Entente Allies and not to the Central
Empires has involved no violation of neu-
trality.
The President has decided to take the neu-
tral course He has insisted on the right of
merchant ships to arm themselves for de-
fense. He has gone further than that, for
he has announced that he will hold Germany
for the loss of American lives on
merchant ships sunk by German submarines
without notice and without giving the per-
sons on board opportunity TO escape. The
difficulty OF reaching this wise and just de-
clson has been Increased because there are
hundreds of thousands of American citizens
who sympathlze with Germany and wish to see
her win the war.
The responsibility of the decision rested on
the President and not upon Congress, just as
the responsibility of deciding whether to recog-
nize the revolutionary Republic of Cuba rested
on President Cleveland in 1896. Congress
proposed to take the initiative then but Sec
retary Olney remarked that a congressional |
would not have the force OF law |
and would merely express the opinion of "the
eminent gentlemen who voted for it . and |
perhaps defeat the best efforts of this Gov. |
TO afford such ctizena americans |
in Cuba protection" The effect of any con. |
gressional resolution on the submarine con-
today would be to weaken the hands |
OF the President and to make his task of de-
Tending the rights of Americans on the high |
seas exceedingly difficult The President is
familiar with his constitutional powers and |
he is apparently in no mood 10 permit Con
gress to usurp his functions.
Germany processes solictude for the lives
of noncombatants. and says that she will sink |
no ship without warning unless an attempt |
is first made 10 escape or TO attack the sub /
marine. If American lives should be lost |
again in the submarine raids war with Ger
many will not necessarily follow. The Pres-
dent can dismiss the German Ambassador
He can seize all the German shipping in
American ports, and hold it as hostages for
German good behavior He can order con-
voy of warships for vessels carrying Ameri- |
cans and take various other peaceful methods
Of impressing Germany with the determina-
ton of this great nation to defend the rights
Of its citizens to continue their peaceful voca-
tons even on the sea.
If the nation stands behind the President
now it is not likely that there will be any
war, such as would inevitably follow a long
of outrages committed because it
ourselves