The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-02-28

'SiiiiS ISD. .s.-\N Id w NlFelGSS.)-
Criticism of the United States, not only
for breaking off relations with Ger
many, but also for the way in which
it was done, was voiced by Chancellor
Won Eethmann- Hollweg in his long
promised talk to the reichstag this aft
ernoon.
In part the chancellor said:
In the Reuters version of the con-
tents of the message sent by President
Wilson OF February 3 to congress, the
our note of January 81. suddenly and
without any previous indication, in
tentionally withdrew the solemn prom
ises made in the note of May, 1916. To
the United States government, there
fore. no choice compatible with dignity
and honor Was left other than the way
which had been announced in her note
Of April 20, 1916. covering the case ii
Germany should not give up her sub
marine method.
IF these arguments are correctly re-
ported by Reuter-, then l must decidedly
protest against them.
Send Allies Munitions.
IN 1913, during the Mexican
troubles, President Wilson, in u solemn
message to. congress, declared that he
intended to follow the best usage of
international law by prohibition of
the supplying of arms to both Mexi-
can parties at war against each other.
'One year later, in 1914, these usages
apparently were no longer co,s idered
been supplied by America to the en-
tente and while the right of the Ameri-
can citizen to travel without hindrance
to entente countries and the right to
trade without hindrance with France
and England, even through the midst
of the battlefields, even the right of
such trade as we had to pay for with
German blood, while all these rights
were jealously guarded, the same right
of American citizens toward the GEN.
trail powers did not seem to be as
worthy of protection and as valuable
They protested against some measures
of England which were contrary to in
ternational law, but they submitted to
them. Under conditions of this kind,
objection as to lack of respect makes a
strange impression.
Broke No Pledges.
with equal decisiveness l must pro-
test against the objection that we, by
the manner in which we withdrew the
assurances given in the note of May
1, offended the honor and dignity of
the United States. From the very be-
ginning we had openly and expressly
declared that those assurances would
be invalid under certain conditions
/. The chancellor then recalled the last
paragraph of the note of May 4, 1916,
which he read verbatim, the last clause
being:
should the steps taken by the
government of the United States not
attain the object it desires. namely to
have the laws of humanity followed by
all the bclligerent nations, the German
new situation, in which it Wust reserve
to itself liberty of decision"
Isolation of Germany.
The chancellor then continued:
'As to the American answer given
to the German note, it was so alb
solutely contrary to what we in our
h,l al
possibility of misunderstanding, that a
reply on our part would have changed
nothing as to the standpoints main l.
tanned by both sides. But nobody. even
in America, could doubt that long ago,
the conditions were fulfilled upon
which, according to our declaration, de-
pended our regaining full liberty of de-
cision.
England did not abandon the isola :
ton of Germany, but on the contrary
intensified it in the most reckless
fashion. Our adversaries were no,
made to respect the principles of in.
ternational law, universally recognized
before the war. nor made to follow the
laws of humanity. The freedom of the
seas. which America wanted to re.
store in cooperation with us, during
the war. has been still more complete
ly destroyed by our adversary and
America has not hindered this. All thi.
is common knowledge.
No Freedom Of Seas.
Even at the end of January, Eng
| land issued Il new isolation declaration
for the North Sea and in this period
! since May 4. nine months have passed
| Could it be surprising that on Jan,
uary 81 we considered that the free
dom of the seas had not been re-es
| tablished and that we drew our con
clusions from this? But the case ex
tends beyond that of formal impor
tance. We who are ready for peace nov