New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-30

When now the present warts considered a
v.rv interesting condition of things Is louC'
N exist. Germany is now at war with 1our ma
.;ons. Of which two adjon her on the west ana
,ho otber two are accessible across mar
row seattle Baltic England from the star
b,ockad.d the North Sea, and has seized much
contraband found on neutral ships. But there
was 10 way at first to prevent hoiahu al"
the other neutral countries from importing
food. nominally for themselves, actually 10.
cormanv. and the same held good with al!
manner of supplies that were not contraoa"u
- vero not vet so made by the extension OF
Oh. +srp, as was done after the war had been
rnd.r wav for some time. Sweden has pourei
supplies of her own iron into Germany; H"i'
land, Denmark, Sweden and Norway nave All
sent in immense quantities of oil and copper
end cotton which came from the Uni'ed ota'es
or Mexico. This trade England could not "p-
tirely stop, and the result was mat FER DiocA-
ad. WAS necessarily limited in effect as ldr
az non-contraband supplies on neutral shi!s
were concerned. Of course, the blockade was
y.rx rigid against vessels attempting to leeve
or reach German ports and was in this re-
snect decidedly successful There have been
no German merchant ships at sea since sep
TENDER, 1914
Thu neutral European ports have created a
situation similar to that which would nave
existed had Florida during ne Civil Naf
been an independent neutral country. Inc
blockade nevertheless was very seriously feit
in Germany even before we entered the w"r.
II is true England had severe tussle WITH
that somewhat indefinite legal term "Ulti-
mate Destination" as applied % cargoes on
neutral ships, but gradually ste went further
and further in her interference with neu-
trail trade And this she could !, because she
held the seas. 1t is quite true that the sub
marines have made the control of the seas
vastly more difficult than formerly it was,
but they have neither broken the blockade II
Germany nor have they successfully block
AIDED England. They have destroyed an enor-
nous number of ships, but Englsnd's hold o.
the seas was still mistaken when we entered
the war.
| War Necessarily Brutal
Then the command of the seas took
totally new shift, by reason of the embargo
we put on all shipments that might reach
! Germany We, being the principal purveyor OF
food and other war necessares 10 the worlc'
could and did lay down the rlle that we
would not sell anything to any one in Europe
who would not agree not to send 1t to Ger
many Possibly we might have simply ar
nounced that we needed everything useful IN
war for ourselves and our allies and would
have to stop selling to anybody else until the
war was over. But diplomacy walks around
house before going into the front door and
we had to proceed on diplomatic lines. Orr
actions immensely simplified the blockade
question, but as the war goes on it seems nm
fortunately to be coming true that the little
nations have got to submit to what the great
rations demand or be drawn into the awfu!
war War, however, is necessarily brutal.
1t was difficult in Nelson's day to make a
blockade tight; it more difficult during
the Civil War, even though the Confederates
had few warships with which TO attempt to
break il; it is far more difficult to-day, FOR
many reasons. The high speed OF the modern
war and merchant vessel, the power of even
moderate calibre guns, the immense value OF
wireless communication, through which ves-
sells can be warned Of danger long before
they approach it and by which at the same
. time spies working on our own and our allies
shores can betray movements OF ships, the al
most insuperable problem Of defeating the