Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1917-09-20

clarity the situation. Great Britain
recognized as binding certain long
accepted principles of international
law and sought now to apply them
to the peculiar and unforeseen con-
ditioms of this war But these prin--
clples were often vague and there
fore full of dangerous possibilities of
Friction
Controversies socm arose between
Great Britain and this Nation. In
practice their ruling sometimes seem
ed to our Government inconsistent
wiath the spirit of International law.
and especially with the established
presidents which they invoked. But
painful as this divergence of opin-
Ion sometimes was, it did not seri-
ously threaten our position of neu--
trality for the issues that arose iIn-
volved only rights of property and
were amply covered by the arbitra--
ton treaty signed only a short time
before by Great Britain and the
United, States.
And this controversy led to a
clearer understanding ON our part OF
the British attitude toward our idea
of the freedom eff the seas. They
were not willing to accept our
classifilcations of the seas as being
distinct from the Old World. We
had confined our interest to matters
affecting rights at sea and had
kept carefully aIoof from issues
affecting the interests of European
nations ON land. The British were
interested i'm both. They explained
that they had participated in, the
London naval conference lin hope tina
it would lead to a sound and liber--.
all entente in the interest of the
rights of all nations on the sea
and ON the land as we'll, and that
they had refused to ratify the
London Declaration because mo COM
pensating accord ON the Continent
had resulted. They could not afford
to decrease the striking power of
their navy unless their powerful
neighbors ON land agreed to decrease
their armies.
That this altitude of England
deeply impressed our Government is
shown by the increasing attention
given by the UNITED States to the
search for ways and means of in
surfing at the end of the war,
LASTING peace for all the world.
The address of our President, on
May 81, 1916, before the League to
Enforce Peace was milestone in
our HISTORY. He outlined the main
principles ON wthich a stable peace
must rest, principles plainly i'm
dicating that this Nation would have
W SlSe up aPOoptiO1 VI uSOldIlOul
and assume the responsibilities of
world power. The President said,
$50 sincerely do we believe these
Things THAT / am sure that speak
the mind wish of the. J.. ople of
America when | say lie Gm,ed
States is w[1ling to become part
ner i'm amy feasible association of
nations formed hi order to realize
these objects and make them secure
against violation"
1t was new and Significant note
in our foreign policy. But the mind
of America had learned much i'm
the long, bitter months of war.
Future historians will make charts
of this remarkable evolution i'm our
public opinion; the gradual abandon
ment OF the illusion of isolation;
the slow growth of a realization that
we could not win the freedom on
sea--for us a vital interest unless
we consented to do our share in
maintaining freedom on land as
Well, and that we could not have
peace i'm the world the peace we
Loved and needed for the perfection
of our democracy-unles we were
Willing and prepared to help re-
strain amy nation that willfuIly en-
dangered the peace of the whole
world family.
Had this address of the President
come before the war, there would
have arisen a storm of protest from
all sections of the land But in
May, 1916, the nation's response wa
emphatic approval, y
To be continued.
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