Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1917-02-12


and always at peace with us. Under
the Law OF NATIONS and the EN-
PRESS, WRITTEN, RATIFIED
agreements Of PARIS, THE HAGUE
and LONDON, American neutral
ships have the right TO voyage un-
molested to Germany or to Austria
with cargoes OF food for civilian use
and with cargoes or rubber. wool
cotton, textile goods and other ar
ticles which all the nations agreed at
Tho Hague to declare INVIOLABLY
NON-CONTRABAND. Yet II at any
time during two years past an Aine-
rican ship had armed itself and In
sisted upon trying to take a cargo to
q German OF Austrian port IT
WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED ON
AND DESTROYED by any British
cruiser which saw it, unless it first
stopped and surrendered IN order
to avoid tnat kind Of catastrophe
American ships have not ATTEMPTED
to voyage to either Germany or Aus
trim, though both countries would be
eager customers Of American ship
pers Now, from the standpoint or
plain, hard-headcd common sense.
we arc unable to see why il IS patri-
ships to abandon the lucrative trade
with Germany and Austria for fear
OF destruction by British blockaders
and shameful and cowardly 10 abon-
don trade with England for fear of
German biockadcrs. Nor can any
body else show a reason. other than
a quibpling sea-lawycrs technical
ity, worthy only OF y sea-lawyer's in
teligence Our shipownors have
very piucently avoided British cap
tura and destruction Of their vessels
by keeping them out Of the forbid
den zones marked out by the British
Admiralty, and they viii act pru-
IDENTIFY and perhaps patriotcally, too,
II they Keep their ships out Of the
danger zones marked out by the
German Admiralty and 80 remove
an danger Of their own country be-
ing dragged into war; There is
neither any standard Of honor nor
patriotism nor selg-interest which
does not apply with exactly equal
force TO THE INTERRUPTION OF
AMERICAN COMMERCE. WITH
GERMANY BY THE BRITISH and
TO THE INTERRUPTION or AME-
RlCAN COMMERCE. WITH ENG
LAND BY THE GERMANS. The
argument is made, Of course that
the Germans sink American ships
and drown American citizens that
try to run their blockade, while the
British have not done so But the
common sense answer. and the suf-
licient answer, Is that the British
have fired on no american ship and
injured no American citizen because
no American ship has ever armed it,
SELF and tried to run tho British
blockade If American ships paid
the same heed TO the German block
AIDE that they have paid to the Brit
ish blockade there would be no
American citizens drowned by the
Germans. The German submarine
blockade is Illegal, and the British
cruiser blockade is also illegal The
British Order in Council that no
American ship can voyage to Nor
way Sweden, Denmark or Holland
without FIRST calling at an English
port and being searched, and that
the United states can only ship just
the amount Of goods prescribed by
the British Admiralty to such neu-
tral nations, Is letter for letter
copy OF tho British order in Council
OVER WHICH WE WENT TO WAR
WITH ENGLAND IN 1879. That
blockade and those orders were illc-
sal then and arc Illegal now but
while our fathers fought such inso-
lence with arms ~ ana won their
fight we submit tamoly If we
were to act with scrupulous fairness
We would EITHER LAY AN EN-
BhRGO or DECLARE WAR
AGAINST BOTH GERMANY AND
ENGLAND for identically illegal
trespasses upon our rights on the
free seas, or else we would put up
with both unsil they had ceasedfght-
ing and then carry our case against
botl. TO an international tribunal. as
we did against England in the mat
ter or the Alabama. The President
is a historian, as well as a states
man. and he doubtless recognizes the
force Of these truths and would be
more than delighted if American
shippers and American citizens would
keep themselves out Of danger OF
destruction and their country out 81
danger OF war by staying away from
the danger zones or the German
blockade, exactly as they have stayed
away from the danger zones or the
DliAian 3iDthdQt lbA llOlt IMAM TWO
years The European war win end
in few months. The representa-
tiveG CT the allied governments. who
met few weeks ago in Rome. know
that we speak the truth when we
say chat 1t was then and thore agreed
that this Spring and Summer cam
paign should be the last, result as IL
might that it was only upon this
agreement that two Of the allied
governments were persuaded to 20
through another campaign. There
is to he one morel desperate push on
the Western front and one more CO
ordinate offensive on the Russian,
Italian and Macedonian fronts, and
when that rrightful deathgrappe is
over there will be peace negotiation
1n the meantime Germany will
strive to stranglc England in the
anaconda folds of her submarine
blockade, while the German armies
strive to hold their wall Of steel
against the allied assaults we say
this with accurate and authoritative