The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-10-01

tural sections OF the Middle West. IL is
no fault OF ours if at this time our re-
spect for her is diminished. The fault
is that of her foreign office and diplomat
ic service. They have Inundated her
by secretly acting as agents for bellig-
erent while she professed neutrality,
Such action is both breach of inter
national understanding and departure
| from national rectitude. 1t has been
Americas fortune, whether good or i'll is
immaterial, to discover and expose some
of the practices on behalf of the German
government by Swedish diplomats in
neutral countries and foreign Office Off
Gals at the Swedish capital, all these
representatives of Sweden acting togeth-
er for transmission to the German gov
eminent of surreptitiously cabled infor-
nation from its own representatives
abroad. And some of this was war in.
formation given for the very purpose OF
enabling Germany to do injury to the
allies.
What is Americas interest in this
matter? The Stockholm Dagblad, which
not improbably speaks for the Swedish
government, says that America acted as
a detective, "and then really ceased to
be concerned, as, apart from her role as
detective America has no right to inter
fere in the affair" it being purely
question between Argentina and Ger
many and Sweden" The Dagblad and
its inspirer are mistaken in regard to
the concern of the United States with
4 hn inl -. tnla bInJ
from Buenos Aires to Stockholm by the
Swedish legation in Argentina. Those
dispatches notified the German govern.
ment of the sailing of neutral ships for
allied ports. and urged that the vessels
should be sunk without a trace" 1t |
would be strange indeed if America were
not concerned with respect to such an
attack on that freedom of the seas which |
she has always asserted automatically. |
and now intends to establish navally and |
The designed attack on the |
neutral merchant ships was not only an
attack on her policy and defiance of
her principles, but it was an act of war |
against her allies, the purpose being to !
destroy supplies which were intended for
them.
Sweden's peculiar regard for neutrality I
has also been illustrated by her generous T
of supplies to Germany dur
ing the war, compared with the smallness /
Of her exports to allied countries. And I
this is the more remarkable inasmuch az
she seems to have acted as buying
agent for Germany, importing the ar
.icles which Germany needed and imme-
lately shipping them across the Baltic,
America has the right to say something,
md do something, if American goods
we're thus bought by Sweden, under pre-
ense of neutrality, for shipment to Ger
many since America entered - war.
We wish to make every reasonable al Il
owance for the difficulty of Sweden's !
position, political az we'll as geographi- /
al, in relation to the strong and nm
neighbor who patrols the /
swedish shores with warships But this
oes not account for everything, certain
V not for the kings sullen pro.German- {
sm, not for the queens colonelcy of
ierman regiment, nor for her willingness {
o accept crown made from fragments l
{ shell gathered on field where that ]
egiment claimed success against the j
'reneh. Ii is Americas business to see q
hat her embargo l. not evaded by 5
ountrv which has such persons at its r
cad, and Others OF similar sent ment in Z
s diplomatic service and trade organiza- q
ions. But Americans will take greater I
leasure in seeing the Swedes improve i
heir idea of neutrality Boston Herald I