The Washington herald., 1917-04-20

The shot Heard Ground American
Chicago Herald.)
/. The German submarine that fired on
the United States destroyer Smith 100
miles on New York yesterday fred a
shot that will be heard around America
Ut should wake millions Of Americans to
the grim realities we are facing. Ger
many is trying to terrorize and paralyze
commerce on this side Of the Atlantic
as she Is trying to paralyze Il of the
, western coasts of Europe. She Is trying
Ito establish her barred zone around the
J great ports of America. Few submarines
! OF many-that Is the significance of her
course.
The attack was preceded by the custo-
mary official lying assurances That q
Prussia's way-to lie and then lie In wait
Not soFmany days ago Berlin was stating
positively that 1t would not accept a
declaration OF a state of war between the
two nations. There was no state OF war,
II said, and affirmations could not make
II so. For days and days 1t furnished
this official balderdash, these lies so thin
of texture that the typically Prussian
plan of surprise attack showed plainly
through, to American correspondents who
remained in Berlin. And they duly trans
mitted them to their own country. For
lieved passed long since in America.
Now will you believe we are really at
war-dawdilng gentlemen in Congress
who oppose plans for proper military pre-
paration, as II war were a dozen years
or the width OF the Atlantic distant?
Now will you believe that the war. has
been brought to America. sleepy citizen
still incredulous that such a thing can
be? Now will you believe that America
| i 1a1 al ~ naf 20 81 rurfNk Ill Aar
might to help suppress this pirate OF the
seas and this vandal of the land. all you
who have heretofore nourished the
strange delusion that this country might
somehow be in war and yet not wage
lit?
A Tyrannous Measure.
(New York Tmss)
The debate in the Senate yesterday or
the espionage bill served to reveal the
| iniquities of the press censorship section
| of that measure. The provisions of this
| attack upon the proper freedom Of the
press were justly characterized as tyran-
nous, and likened to the abhorrent Prus-
sian despotism Under this measure. II
was pointed out. a newspaper correspond.
| ent might be imprisoned for merely en-.
| tering a government building in quest Of
| news, since such an attempt to elici
| information" could be interpreted by q
resentful official as an effort to obtair
information that might" be useful L
the enemy. The constitutionality of tht
| proposed law, which would create q
crime to be hereafter defined in regula.
| tions by the executive department of the
government, was seriously questioned b.
several Senators.
| Senator Lodge also made an importan
point. There is a wide distinction" sale
| the Senator, between the publication o.
| information useful to the enemy and o
information that some department heat
may consider useful to the enemy" More
| than that, there is a distinction as to in
| formation that may be in some degree
useful to the enemy. but at the same tine
Is Of transcendent Importance to our owl
| people. 1t might be useful to the enemy
for example, to know that our soldieri
| were being supplied with impure food
as in the well-remembered instance in tht
/ Spanish war. but would that considera
| tion weigh against the right of tn,
American people to know that our sol