Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-07-04
significance Of
HUNS SUBMARINE
Fabric Of international Economic
Life q threatened
DEPENDING ON LAND POWER
osrmanys Aims Must Dc Thwarted,
Forcing Her % the Gee and o..
ssrvanee ~ lte Rules o.
froedem.

l 00bvOstSO " ~ evOsVO "
Frssdem.
BY FRANK J. ooopNoW.
Ofom the Committee on Public InfoFma-
tion. Washington, D. CO.
The nineteenth century witnessed
what was probably the greatest
achievement Of the human intellect.
This was the bringing about Of the
economic unity Of the world. Since
the opening Of the present century 1t
maybe said that no country which has
any marked development has been self
sufficient. The products Of the trop-
les have become articles Of necessity
to the Inhabitants Of the temperate
zone. The minerals which nature has
stored In such profusion In particular
districts are regarded as held In trust
for the world at large. Failure In the
crop Of certain staples like cotton.
which can be grown only under pc
culiar conditions. ia felt in distant
lands. Drought in the Australian an
t!podes makes it difficult for Europe
to clothe herself In wool.
This economic world unity has been
the result Of a slow development.
Many things have contributed to Its
growth. Without, however, the recog-
nition Of the freedom Of the seas 1t
would have been impossible. The
transportation Of many products Is
conditioned by the cheapness Of
freight rates incident to water routes.
These routes are available for general
use only II the SEQ u free to all who
desire to S 1t, unmolested from at.
tack. Their interruption as a result
Of the naval operations Of the present
war has been followed by scarcity in
many countries.
The freedom Of the sea became an
established fact only in comparatively
recent times. A perusal Of the quaint
p%hraseology Of some marine insurance
policies. often still retained beyond
the times to which it is applicable, re-
veals the dangers incident to ocean
travel not 81 many years ago. Pirates,
potentates and princes all combined
not 80 long ago to make the risks Of
ocean travel extra hazardous. The
claims Of petentates and princes to
monopolize the ocean were recognized
as incapable Of justification only a few
hundred years back. Pirates still
piled their nefartous trade within the
memory Of living men. Indeed. pirates
are still to be found In the rivers and
~estuaries Of southern China, and mer-
chant ships In that part Of the world
are compelled to arm themselves even
now against piratlcal attack. as was
universally the ease the world over
not much more than one hundred years
ago.
No Peculiar Rights 70 Sea.
The freedom Of the sea against pi.
tatical attack was secured by the
united efforts Of all seafaring nations
who treated the pirate as an outlaw to
whom no consideration or quarter was
to be given. Long before this result
was reached it was determined by
common> agreement that no one coun'
try should claim any particular rights
In the sea such as Spain and Portu.
gal had with papal sanction once set
up. Apart from the influence Of prln.
ciples Of Justice, 1t was found as q
practical matter that live and let live
was the only principle which could be
applied. For interference with the
ships Of any country was easily re-
payable in kind. Ceaseless hostility
between seafaring powers would have
followed the application Of any other
policy, al 1t did actually follow the
monopolistic attempts Of Spain.
The significance Of the submarine
which has first been used in the wal
now raging consists In the fact that
its $ imperils the economic unity
Of the world to which attention has
been called. The submarine threatens
the freedom Of the seas through the
recognition Of which progress In the
direction Of world economic unity has
been made possible. The submarine
threatens the freedom Of the seas be.
cause no adequate method Of defense
against It has as yet been discovered.
II It Is used AZ 1t has been In the past
few years by a nation whose chief con.
Germ Is land rather than sea power,
retaliation and reprisal are Impossible.
Two can play at the game Of sea mo.
nopoly when surface shipping and sen.
faring nations are concerned. But
where the submarine 10 used by a power
whose interests are continental rather
than oceanic the game which IL played
10 quite q one-sided one All the pow.
er which IL attacked can do ID to en-.
deavor to destroy az many submarines
a. possible, and recent experience
would 80 to show that such a policy
IL not effective. A power which makes
use Of submarines for the destruction
Of merchant shipping Of course In.
vites reprisals, but II that power has
no shipping such reprlsals are I'm
possible.
Owed Existence q Britain.
This 10 the situation at the present
i 49, M "a - III