The sun., 1918-08-13
The Nine Fishermen and the Treaty
Of 1928.


Of 1928.
The peculiar significance of the at
tack by Prussian undersea nssassins
on the American fishermen engaged
in taking swordfish Off the Georges
Banks will appear more clearly when
this provision Of an existing treaty
has been considered:
eff war should arise between the two
contracting parties all women
end children. scholars of every faculty.
cultivators OF the earth, artisans. man
ufacturers and fishermen, unarmed and
inhabiting unfortifed towns. villages or
places. and In general all others whose
occupations are for the common sub
sistence and benefit of mankind, shall
be allowed to continue their respective
employments and shall not be mo-
Tested in their persons. nor shall their
homes or goods be burnt or otherwise
destroyed And 1t is declared
that neither the pretence that war dis
solves all treaties. nor any other what
ever, shall be considered as annuling or
suspending this and the next preceding
article; but. on the contrary. that the
state of war is precisely that for which
they are provided. and during which
they are to be as sacredly observed as
the most acknowledged articles in the
law Of nature or natione."
The two contracting parties in this
case were the King Of Prussia and
the United States Of America. The
contract obligation of the King of
Prussia now rests with the Imperial
German Government.
This humane, civilized and care
fully safeguarded provision for the
protection of Prusslan or American
fishermen who might be pursuing
their occupation peacefully, even
when their respective Governments
were at war, has an interesting story.
1t was drawn one hundred and thir-
ty-three years ago by three of the
most illustrious Americans Of that
day, namely, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
THOMAS JEFFERSON and JOHN ADAMS,
representing the newly established
republic of the western hemisphere !;
and on the other side by Baron
FREDERICK WILLIAM DE THULEMEIER
Privy Counsellor of Embassy of FRED
ERICK the Great, and that monarch
personal representative at The Hague
near their High Mightinesses the
States-General of the United Meth
erlands. The novel attempt to fore
stall events and mitigate the horrors
of possible but improbable war by
an agreement expressly made bind
ing even in case Of such war savors
somewhat Of the common sense of
franklin, the broad democracy of
JEFFERSON and the practical sagacity
of JOHN ADAMS. In the mind of
which of these three founders Of the
western republic the idea was origi-
nally conceived, who can now say
1t was adopted by all of them; and
it WIS accepted in the same spirit
and signed at The Hague by the plen-
ipotentiary of the greatest of the
Prussian militarists, the predecessor
of the Kaiser who has sent to the
fishing banks these undersea assas-
sins to sink and to kill.
The treaty agreement for the I'm
munity Of noncombatant fishermen in
case of war between Prussia and the
United States expired by its own
time limit in 1896; but 1t was re-
vived in precisely the same words in
new treaty concluded at Berlin
in 1899 by JOHN QUINCY ADAMS and
three Ministers of the Prussian King
and again in 1928 the Treaty of Com
merce and Navigation negotiated at
Washington by HENRY CLAY and
SUDwIG NIEDERsTETTER kept 1t alive
md guaranteed Its continuing valid.
ity even as against any pretence that
war dissolves all treaties. 1t Is to
this very day binding on the German
Government-as binding as any scrap
Of paper can be where Prussian faith
is concerned.
The nine fishing craft wantonly
and needlessly sunk last week by n
German submarine east of Nantucket
and southeast Of Cape Race are nine
additional witnesses to the worth
lessness of the Prussian's treaty
word. They illustrate once more the
value of Pr ssinn pledge of sacred
observance specially rendered and de
fined with reference TO the conditions
now existing. They provo that Their,
is no such thing in he Hohenzollcrr
code as the recognition of any bind
Ing article "in the law of nature anC
nations" They show the folly O
expecting anything but contemptuou