New Britain herald., 1918-12-12
Viscount Grey, Former British Foreign Secre-
 tary, Thinks England and America Can Reach Agreement by
 Such an Arrangement.
DECLARES BLOCKADE
 HELD OFF GERMANY

United States Aided and Assisted iIfa
 Maintaining This Blockade an91
 Would Not Be So Inconsistent as toa
 Repudiate Such Action in Case oa
 Unfortunate Future Events, speak@
 CT Asserts.
 Dewsbury, England, Dec. 11.-AH league of nations is the solution taE the question of freedom of the seas'f and Great Britain and the United States can reach a complete agree|H ment on that question by joining sucl1H a league, declared Viscount Grey, forzs mer foreign secretary, in a speeclaS here tonight.
 Blockade Helped Win War.
 The seas the viscount said werg free in times of peace and GreaeH Britain had placed no restrictionSE upon them. During the war th4H American navy had aided the Britisl1E navy in maintaining the blockade andR Lord Grey thought the United StateS8 8 would use the same weapon, if nec-# essity for it arose in the future. With1 x out the blockade, he added, GermanyH might have won.-
 Freedom of Seas'' Is Indefinite.
 The term freedom of the seas" ha K continued was American in originH and had been adopted by the Ger-k mans for their own purposes. He be- lieved President Wilson meant free- dom of the seas to all who joined d K league of nations but the phrase needed clearer definition.
 Will Not Anticipate Trouble
 This is a matter which, it is fear- ed may create difficulties between President Wilson and the British gov ernment," he said. T think it is a great pity that so much has been said about the freedom of the seas withoutm it being defined. It is true there is% considerable prejudice against thdM phrase, largely due to the fact tharH it is believed to be a German phrase. It is not German, but American. IEM was made in the United States and the Germans adopted and used it for their own purposes in a sense td@ which we have never agreed. Henca@ its unpopularity. But until PresidenfM Wilson defines it and comes to discuss it with our government, there IS nG@
 
 agreement as to what it means
 Seas Open in Peade Times.
 Freedom of the seas in times ofM peace? If so, we agree. Wherever K the British navy has been in position to exercise it's influence and power on the seas in times of peace it has ex- ercised that influence impartially for the freedom of the seas for all nations wi hnl iCtin think, has some rule forbidding foreign ships to carry goods between the United States and the Philippines # Some other countries have similar 8 rules. We never had a regulation lika@ that. We have been more completely F for the freedom of the seas in times# of peace than any other nation. How-# ever great our sea power has been # we have used it for impartial freedom # of the seas for every other nation asM much as for ourselves, and I think # we ought to receive a little more re- M cognition than we do for the fact thatM we have never used British navsglM K power in times of peace to make the use of the seas easier for 0urselves# without simultaneously making iuM easier for others on the same termsM
 Y. $. Aided in Blockade.
 If the question is one of the free- dom of the seas in times of war then would say this: The United States as we all most gratefully recogniza@ has taken part in the last two years@ N of the war. Without the United States@ N we could not have had the success thaM Allies have now won. l cannot enl -M2 p11asize that too much nor express@ too much admiration of it. But sinceW the United States entered the war, slle K has not only acquiesced, but believe@ m ost strongly cooperated in carl x rying out the blockade of Germany In the early stages of the war theM blockade was not nearly so completed s because the United States raisedM many questions about it, but in laterM years of the conflict the blockade was made complete with the cooperationI# of the United States. Without thatM blockade, success could not have been # won. Indeed without the biockade@a Germany might have won M
 Opinions on Wilson's Terms. #
 Suppose this situation should exist@ gain, and it is impossible to supposa#
 Continued on Ninth Pagsl X