The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-02-06
The Blow Falls.
From the Macon Telegraph.

From the Macon Telegraph
I Germany has done what for months the
whole neutral as well as belligerent world
has feared she would do. Hemmed in by sea
and land, fighting now purely on the de-
fensIve after her great strike for empire and
conquest has failed before the steadfastness
of France, the massive sacrifices of Russia
and the marshaling of Britain's unlimited re-
sources, she has thrown off every restriction,
every pretense at civilized practice, every ac-
cepted code of civilized warfare and stands
at this moment a figure "run amuck" on
land and sea. Her unrestricted submarine
Warfare means that she has been reduced in
her own extremity to the final desperate,
savage extremes of the ruthless, aggressive
fighter finally beaten to bay. She must have
peace or perish. Peace may be forced on
her this coming summer with her people
starving, her manpower decimated, her arm
les hopelessly beaten. Her one chance,
therefore, for peace with some salvage lies
In just what she has announced she will
start on February make herself such a
ruthless and irresponsible terror to all the
world that she can include immunity of
sort in what she may have to offer as peace
terms. 1t marks the final phase of the Great
German Adventure into world CONQUEST
the admission by Potsdam that she is beaten
and will go down furnishing her enemies, the
whole world, as viciously, as promiscuously,
as recklessly, as possible.
She fats now to the world her intention to
sink without warning all shipping of every
character, of every nationality, of every flag
that is found in the entire North Atlantic
and the Mediterranean lane into Falmouth
for the exclusive use of American ships
There IS no longer freedom of the seas in
any degree at all for neutral shipping as
far as German submarines are concerned.
Every ship above the water will be the tar
get for an instant unheralded torpedo from
German underwater craft
What brought the sharp and uneuuivocal
Sussex ultlmatum from the American gov
eminent when prosecuted on what was a
spasmodIc scale is now entered on a stupen-
dous and universal basis. America said then
that II Germany didn't renouce her growing
policy Of unrestricted submarine warfare
and do 1t instantly diplomatic relations would
immediately be severed between the German |
empire and the American republic. That
OF course would be tantamount to a declara-
ton of war. Germany sullenly and angrily
agreed to the flats laid down in that ulti-
matum. Thus what really amounted to a
truce was achieved.
Now Germany, after several months, flies
in the face of everything America has said,
sets up a submarine blockade of almost ev-
cry European port of entry and defes neu-
trail ships of any kind to enter any belliger-
ent port except Falmouth under certain i'm
possible and not to be even considered con-
ditions. If they do they will be sunk without
warning and human lives aboard will look
out for themselves.
When the first American ship, or any neu-
trail ship, or belligerently owned ship with
Americans on it, goes down under such con-
ditions, and they will be sunk in great
numbers, then Washington on its former
platform, will have but one choice Bern
storff will be sent home and the lately ar
rived Tcharnowski with him. Germany will
take that to mean war. Then we'll be in
it. These things are absolute.
Only a complete reversal of policy at
Washington can possibly prevent it. That
reversal can hardly be expected to come. We
cannot swallow all our words, retract all
our announced principles.
1t begins to be pretty clear now what
Robert Lansing meant when he bluntly told
the newspaper men in Washington after the
first peace note had gone north:
We are very close to the verge of war
ourselves"
Woodrow Wilson's peace moves were what
they purpOrted to be on the face of the
secretary of states frank statement-the
last attempt to keep America out of war
Seemingly that attempt has failed