Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1916-09-22
BRITISH CONTEMPT FOR AMER
ICAN RIGHTS.

On last Tuesday, September 19,
the State Department was informed
that England's reply to the protest
against the opening and censoring of
American mails had been started
from London" Wheteher by cable
or by mail is not known, and the
country has not heard anything of
the reply since But it is predicted
that Great Britain is not going to
give in to the demands of our gov
ernment in the least.
1t was on May "a that the protest
was sent from Washington. SO it
has taken the British Government
four months to answer the charge
that British officials have violated
grossly the postal treaty between the
United States and Great Britain. The
State Departments note Of May "a
was couched in language that was
very explicit. One passage reads as
follows: "Only a radical change, in
the present British and French policy,
restoring to the United States its full
rights as a neutral, will satisfy this
Government" A Just demand very
plainly stated. Had the British For
eign Office been convinced that the
Government making this demand
was in deadly earnest four months
would not have passed by without
Washington hearing from Downing
street
The note of May "a declared that
"only a radical change" in the mat
ter Of dealing with American mails
would satisfy the United States Gov
ernment. The change did not take
place. British officials kept on rifling
mail pouches for American letters
containing trade secrets of American
business houses. which were COM
municated to the British Board of
Trade to be passed on to English
competitors of the American firms
whose letters had been censored by
British officials That sort OF thing
has been going on for the past four
months whilst theState Departments
note OF protest was filed away in a
pigeon hole in the British foreign
office. It was only last week that the
official mail of the United States
navy was held up and opened by
British censors at Vancouver, B. G.
A Washington dispatch announces
that this latest outrage will elicit
from the State Department still an
other protest. In the note of May
"a, the Secretary Of State declared
that rights Of neutrals are as sacred
as rights OF belligerents and must be
strictly observed" The contempt
manifested by British officials for
this declaration is shown by the cen
soring Of the official mail of the
United States Navy
The reply Lloyd George has made
to American criticism of his state
Dent in the House Of Commons, in
which he virtually acknowledged
that American mails are rifed in the
interest of British trade furnishes a
cue to England's indifference to
State Department protests The
British Minister is quoted as saying
that criticism Of his remarks is the
work of German propagandists in the
United States. The implication is
that, outside of this mythical Ger
man propagandists, the American
people are so Anglicized that they
are willing to let England go to any
lengths in her warfare upon Amer
lean rights. Hence the rifiing OF our
mails, the seizure Of our ships en-
gagged in non-contraband trade, and
the ukase against Americans trading
with neutral countries. All this has
been endured patiently ana humDly
by our Government The notes OF
Pickwickian character sent from
Washington might as well have re-
mained unwritten, so far as any
effect they have had on the British
Government. They were very much
like the tufts of grass the farmer in
the story flung at the boys robbing
his orchard The pilfering urchins
were only brought tc terms by stones
substituted for the tufts of grass.
The time has come for our Gov
ernment to supplement ineffective
diplomatic notes by acts, which will
convince England that she must show
due respect for American rights. The
country looks to President Wilson
and his official advisers to adopt
suitable measures for curbing Eng
lands insolence toward the Republic