Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1916-01-08
A QUESTION OF AMERICAN
DVfsHRureyf

During the debate in the United
States Senate on Wednesday last
over the freedom Of the seas Senator
Lodge, the ardent defender of Eng
land from Massachusetts, said Our
markets are open TO all the world to
buy. We have taken no action to
prevent any belligerent or anyone
else from buying in our markets.
That a Senator and ranking mem
Der Of the Senate Committee on For
eign Relations should openly make
such an assertion can only be ex-
planned by him being more British
than American Mr. Lodge Wen
knows that Great Britain's pressure
upon Denmark and Norway and
Sweden and Greece and Holland, has
compelled these countries to limit
their purchase Of our commodities,
Of our outputs and our products. Mr..
Lodge well knows that our own yes-
sells of trade are prevented by Eng
land to deliver in the harbors of the
neutral countries ofNorthern Europe
not alone none-contraband articles
for the Central Powers, but for the
neutral nations as well.
Our markets are not open to our
customers, our legal. anxious, neu
trail customers in any of the peace
full nations named, and those coun-
tries are blocked and limited in their
purchases from this country by
reason OF British diplomatic work
backed by British seapower, and the
Senator from Massachusetts should
not have neglected to place this inn
portant fact before the Senate and
the American people, if he claims to
be an American
Senator Lodge is right when he
says the United States has a legal
right to sell munition Of war to any
of the belligerents But the United
States has also the right to sell
munition of war and all other ar
ticles to the neutral nations, and it
is our governments duty to see that
it's commerce with those nations Is
not interfered with through either
diplomatic efforts or force OF Great
Britain and its allies to place restric-
tions upon the demands Of those
neutral countries for the products Of
our lands, the outputs Of our mines,
or those Of our munitions OF war
factories.
"Our markets are open to all tho
world to buy"
Can the constituents of the Senator
from New England now supply the
full demands of the merchants Of
Holland or Of any Of the Scandinav-
ian countries for munition of war,
for cotton fabrics, for copper manu-
facturers, for rubber goods of any
class?
Are not the demands Of everyone
of those countries for New England's
outputs limited by Old England's IL
legal and unjust practices?
"Our markets are open to all the
world to buy" while British ports
are filled with hundreds of neutral
vessels captured while on voyages
conveying our commerce to peaceful
neutral nations!
Was the Senator from Massachu-
setts indulging in sarcasm when he
made such a statement?
Can the lnunition factories and the
cotton mills OF New England ship
their outputs to neutral nations to-
day? We trust the Senator from
Massachusetts in his anxiety to de-
fend our right to ship to belligerents
viii not forget to defend our national
rights. the rights Of his constituents,
the rights Of the cotton planters OF
the South the manufacturers and
provision packers and agriculturists
Of the Union to freedom Of the seas
and to the fullest trade with all neu-
trail nations.
If the influential senator from
Massachusetts is an American he
VIII before this session Of the Con-
gress gets very far, be doing his ut
most to end British interference with
our national rights, which inteifcr-
ences are the root Of the submarine
evil.