The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-12-17
NOW
PROVING PROBLEM
FOR PEACE TABLE
What Will Allies Do About
Group Of Islands Off North
ern Coast of NorWay?-IS
mo Mans Land"

WASHINGTON, Dec. IA land
where highway robbery, murder ana
other high crimes and misdemeanors
are perfectly legal, or at least are not
unlawful, will furnish one Of the prob
lens that will arise to perplex the peace
conference. This land in Spitzbergen,
and acts which are punishable by death
or Imprisonment elsewhere In the world
are not unlawful there because there
is no law,
For Spitzbergen is in the truest sense
Of the word a mo mans Iand' not
metaphorically so as was the dead!y
strip between the front-llne trenches in
France, but literally what Robert
Lansing, secretary Of state, designed
as terra %nullius, no mans land an
International freak.
This curiosity among the nations OF
the earth is not some tiny islet In an
isolated corner of the remote seas, nut
an island, or rather group Of Islands,
of vast extent, embracing 5O,0OO square
miles. Spitzbergen is 40 miles north
a place as can be found on the earths
surface. In the few sunny days OF mid
summer a little grass appears In the
sheltered hooks, but FOR the greater
part of the year the Arctic winter
reigns supreme.
1t would seem that a peace confer
ence that has to settle the myriad ques-
tions growing out of the world war
would devote precious little time to TINS
group Of i~Ce-covered Islands in the Arc
tic ocean, but when the diplomats EN-
bark upon the question OF their dis
position they will have set sail on an
unCharted sea Of international law, Tor
the problem of Spitzbergen Is without
precedent and without parallel in the
history Of the world.
Germany. before she went out of the
business Of apportioning the world to
suit herself, sought to steal a march
on the rest of the nations by inserting
a clause in the now defunct Brest-
Litovsk treaty dividing the control OF
Spitzbergen between Germany and Rus
sia: in other words giving it to Ger
many. When this clause came to hight
there was great indignation in England
over this act Of German presumption.
For until the signing OF the Brest-
Bitovsk treaty neither Germany nor
Russia had ever put forth any claim to
Spitzbergen. Neither had England, for
that matter, nor any other nation, over
Spitzbergen's bleak wastes no flag has
eve waved.
The remarkable history of S%pitzberg-
en- began when the islands were discoV-
cred In 1896 by William Barents, the
Dutch explorer. The islands were Gov
cred with snow and ice. and no nation
considered it worth while to lay claim
to such worthless territory, So, while
NlSlltu OCtdSlOlldl lily w NiluiClhl NV
have remained ownerless through four
centuries while the powers Of the earth
have been sCrambling for colonies in
fairer lands. But If SpitZbergen, IS SO
worthless al to remain unclaimed
through all the intervening centuries
since Barents entered its harbora Why
should the peace conference with It's
manifold troubles be called upon to add
this remote one to its list? The answer
is that 1t has been found that, nesting
under Spitzbergen's thick blanket OF
snow and ice, are great deposits of coal,
iron, pure gypsum, marble and OIL
bearing rock.
An American company began we ue-
velopment of coal mines in Spitzbergen
about 1900. Other countries hastened
to follow suit. Then the curious tact
| presented itself that Spitzbergen, be-
longing to no nation, and being without
Government of any kind, there was no
such thing as private right of property
there. Conditions as to ownership OF
property in ~Spitzhergen We're Just tne
same as they were in europe IN the
Stone Age, when every mar t99k Wha'
he could from HIS weaker heighbor.
Why, il probably will be, asked, dld
not some nation raise its flag there ana
proclaim it's sovereignty as is done
when an unCharted island is dlscov-
cred or as Columbus claimed America IN
the name Of Spain? Because, again
quoting Secretary Lansing, the nations
had 90 long acduiesced in the assump-
ton that ~Spitzber~en was terra nulliuS
that none Of them had the hardihood
To make claim of individual ownership.
1t was after Secretary Lansing MADE
that statement that Germany had an
excess OF hardihood ana drew up the
Brest- Litovsk treaty. After germany ,
action became known, England, hurried
IL A.. -g NukANua md raised thA