New-York tribune., 1918-11-18
"The Freedom of the Seas"

1.-The Freedom or the Seas
Being unable to interpret it, the Brit
ish government reserved adhesion to
Article II of President Wilson's fourteen
peace conditions-the one dealing with
''the freedom of the seas"
Article II reads:
Absolute freedom of navigation upon
the seas, outside territorial waters, alike
in peace and in war; except the seas
may be closed in whole in part by
international action for the enforcement
of international covenants.
Confusion as to the meaning of this
language is universal. Admiral Sims
said in London the other day: 81 am
unable to find any one on either side
to give a definition of the freedom of
the seas" Thereupon, according to
Washington dispatch to The Tribune,
he was rebuked by an ''authority'' at the
Navy Department, who declared: "Ad-
miral Sims abandons the traditional
policy of the United States"
That glittering generality has been
the refuge of all those who have tried
to define the Presidents attitude toward
the free use of the seas. 1t was used
by "The Evening Post'' in January,
1917, to Justify his enigmatic remarks
about the freedom of the seas in his
tpeace without victory" address to
Congress. It is still being used. Mr.
David Lawrence, that busy interpreter
of Mr.. Wilson's thoughts and phrases,
wrote in one of his articles last week:
"There is reason to believe that the
possibility of friction on the freedom
of the seas has been exaggerated in
some British quarters, for America is
going to stand for exactly the things
which Elihu Root, as Secretary of State,
expressed at the behest of President
Roosevelt in 1907"
If America is going to doY that, it is
not going to stand for Article III, or for
any other Of Mr. Wilson's pronounce
ments ON the freedom of the seas The
American delegates to The Hague Con-
ference of 1907 presented an amend
1nent to one of the treaties concerning
warfare at sea, which read:
The prIvste property of all citizens or
subjects of the signatDKy POWERS, scatA
the ez:rgptson OF cDmtvuBGEG of scnY,
shah be exempt from cHwdwye and seiz-
ure un the sea by the ARMED vessels
by the military forces of any of the
signatUy prweTA
Tins amendment WAS rejected IF it
had been adopted 1t might have seemed
at that time to represent a material ex-
tension Of neutral Sea rights- But the
extEaur dInaIy extension OF bealigerenk
sea nights in the world VIII just ending
would have made such a concession
practically worthless Contraband lists
nave been extended to cover practically
ali articles OF commerce, private ship
ping has been converted on an enormous
scale TO military uses, and blockades
have been imposed which have put all
the trade of the world directly under
the supervision of the belligerents hav-
ing control of the sea- In the latter
years Of the war free navigation of any
sort has been virtually strangied.
1t Is inconceivable that President
Wilson should have been thinking about
securing absolute freedom Of naviga-
tion, alike in peace and in war, by writ
ing into international law puny amend
ment such as the United States offered
without success, at the last Hague con-
ference
Article III of the fourteen peace con-
ditions can, in fact, be understood only
by studying It's origin and development.
1t cropped out in 1917 as a sop to Ger
many in the framing of peace With
out victory" Germany wanted uure-
stricted navigation and commerce in
time OF war That would have been
OF vast military advantage to her. She
was strong for the abolition of CONNER
cial blockades
In his peace address on January %.
1917, the President coquetted with those
ideas He said: "No doubt somewhat
practical reconsideration of MANY of
the rules OF international practice hith-
erto sought to be established may be
necessary in order to make the seas
indeed free and common, in practically
all circumstances, for the use of man.
kind, but the motive for such changes il
compelling" Such a reconsideration
would plainly involve an abrogation OF
contraband regulations and Of CONNER
cial blockades.
But, by way Of casting an anchor to
w,ndward for the benefit Of his "intnr-
preters," the President remarked. near
the end ssf his address: II am proposing
Ex< H. Al.