The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1916-10-18

i United States or cause the death o.
American citizens and the government,
added:
III such deplorable situation
should arise, the Imperial German Gov
eminent can readily appreciate tina,
the Government Of the United States
would be constrained to hold the I'm
perial German Government to stric1
accountability for such acts Of theil
naval authorities and to take any steps
1t might be necessary to take to safe
guard American lives and property and
to secure to American citizens the full
enjoyment of their acknowledged
| rights on the high seas"
These words informed Germany that
In sinking our vessels and destroying
the lives Of our citizens she would act
at her peril.
Six weeks later on March 28th, the
F'alaba was torpedoed and an Ameri
can was killed but nothing was done
One month later on April %, the
American vessel Cushing was attacked
and crippled by German aeroplane;
and on May LIST the American vessel
Gulf Light was torpedoed and sunk by
a German submarine and two or more
Americans were killed yet nothing was
done In either case. A day or two
later the German Embassy published
a notice warning Americans not to sail
upon the Lusitania although under the
rules Of international law they had a
right to sail on that vessel and if it
were sunk the government of the ma
/ Cd inn 70 40
for the safety Of the passengers. Any
self-respecting government would have
notified the German Ambassador In
stantly that Germany must so provide
! for their safety if she expected to re-
| tain friendly relations with America.
This is what Mr.. Hughes, when asked
| in a public meeting, said he would
have done and If 1t had been done the
| tragedy of the Lusitania would not
have occurred. But the spineless gov
eminent in Washington did nothing.
The Lusitania was sunk and more than
one hundred American citizens were
drowned. This was on the 7th of May
and four days afterwards while the
| American people were stirred to the
depths at this outrage the President
in a speech at Philadelphia declared
that "a man may be too proud to
fight" sentence which has made the
American government an object of de-
rision in every foreign country in the
world
In his diplomatic correspondence
Mr.. Wilson again talked loudly and did
nothing. Again he declared that we
must hold the German government to
strict accountability and would not
omit any word or act to maintain the
rights Of our citizens. But when DR..
Dumba, the Austrian Ambassador,
asked Mr.. Bryan, secretary of state,
whether these words meant business,
he received an answer which satisfied
him that they did not but were intend
ed only for effect at home in America
and he SO reported officially to his
government. And up to this day al
though Germany has since admitted
her liability for the destruction of
these lives, not one cent of indemnity
has been collected or even an effort
made to ascertain the extent of that
liability. A long correspondence en-
sued, every American note growing
weaker than the one before until the
Arabic was torpedoed and more Ameri-
can lives were destroyed and still moth
ing was done Then the Ancona and
then the Persia and more Americans
were killed and nothing done and this
destruction is liable to be renewed
right here on our own coast at any
moment.
But our government has been just
as ineffective in maintaining our rights
against England as against Germany.
England has violated international law
by changing the lists of contraband
during the war and by Selling property
transported in lawful trade. She has
practically stopped great part of our
commerce with neutral countries. She
seizes our mails, inspects them all and
keeps what letters she likes and we
tamely submit to this. She boycotts
American firms and forbids them to
traffic on the high seas and we stand
this too. 1t is safe to say that America
has never had, not even in James
Buchanan, a president quite so pusil-
luminous as the one who occupies the
White House today.
His partisans are saying, well if he
did not submit to all these things there
would be war" Not bit of 1t. If we
seized the great German liners intern
ed in American ports and refused to
release them till Germany Unidentified
us for the murder Of our citizens that
indemnity would be given and there
would be no war either. Germany
could not afford It, And If we threat
ened to put an embargo upon our ex-
ports until England stopped interior
ing with our lawful commerce, England
would stop 1t at once and there would
be no war England could not afford
1t. All that Is needed In the White
House is man Of nerve.
But the government which has thus
failed to protect it's citizens or Its
rights on the high seas has been even
more pusillanimous In its failure to
protect American lives and property In
Mexico What was the platform upon
which Mr. Wilson came into power?
1t is said. THE Constitutional rights
of American citizens should protect
them within our borders and go with
them throughout the world and every
American citizen residing or having
property In any foreign country is en-
titled to and must be given the full
protection of the United States Gov
eminent both for himself and for his
property"
When Mr. Wilson became President |
there were many thousands of Ameri-
can citizens resident in Mexico and
lawfully there Hundreds Of the men |
have been killed and many Of the wom-