The daily Nome industrial worker., 1917-02-08


 Germany has laid it down that the fact that a blockade is evaded by the [ boats in itself makes the i blockade by the Entente nations @ paper blockade merely, but Great Britain responds by asking where are the German ships sailing the high seas and what German port has open and uninterrupted connec tion as far as commerce is concerned on the High Seas
 Germany itself is on the horns of a dilemma. Denying the effective. ness of the British blockade, it has to sink the ships which it's subma rines captured because of it's inabil- ity to take those captured ships back to Germany. In consequence of this compulsory situation, Ger many has to destroy the property seized and in doing so jeopardized and destroyed human life.
 The sinking of the Lusitania is case in point. That ship was trying to reach the British ports in defiance of the [ boat blockade orders. The ship was attacked by | boat. Here was prize worth capturing. IL was the most magnificent ship a1oat IL was by far the fastest. It was fayorite on ocean travel. Yet even the ability of the submarine to capture such a boat was a useless power for unless it could be taken to a German port the British block ade would compel the Germans to relinquish their prize.
 That was the situation that com lronted the Germans and they sank the steamer. men, women and child ren and aH because capture was positively denied them.
 The menace to neutral traffic and to neutral lives in this policy was apparent enough, and could be justi- fled only by one principle which tears at once the whole fabric of international law to pieces. And that is the right to do so because of the power to do SO.
 Beyond question international law exists to protect the rights of the stronger. Because the prln- ciples which are most generally re- cognized are those which favor the powerful nations this is obvious But fundamentally to tacitly admit the right of the Germans to retuse recognition to the American blocN' ade doctrines meant an assertion oi the principle that might is right.
 The interminable notes that fol l lowed showed that Germany just then was not prepared to do this and yet upon the conclusion of the conversations with relation to the sinking of the Sussex, Germany while agreeing to modify its sub
 marine policy also insisted upor maintaining the right to change this policy if she saw fit
 The British arming of me- chant
 men changed the status of the en
 tire question. It is the German contention that an armed merchant
 man is a warship and thereupon i
 is cited as a precedent that such al 1,,1 warship in the same age that ac
 cepted the American principle O
 effective blockades. The Entent
 retorts on this that the German
 have been sinking and imperillini
 lives on merchant ships and "de
 fense" was necessary, that if al
 armed ship is warship in the in
 ternational principles accepted |
 1900, then the effective blockad
 theory must also be accepted an
 sinkings of merchant ships unwarn ed or within the war zone imperill ing lives is against internationa law. The United States maintain
 it's position as before and refuse to admit that these sinkings ar legal. Germany proposes to COT
 tinue them by the right of migh } In such a situation it is apparer that peaceful relations are no longe ? possible between two nations whic l are both little inclined to modif their positions.
 g Then comes the final arbiter { 8 all force. Civilization just no can do no other. It is really bi , ter commentary on civilization.