The Colorado statesman., 1918-03-16
DENVER, COLORADO, SATURDAY, MARCH 10 1918

| titude of a neutral nation. More than
that, it was virtuously right in this ::
had not the nations, peace-loving and
unprepared as most peace-loving ma
tions are, the right to resort to neutral
countries and neutral merchants and
neutral manufacturers to prepare
themselves suddenly against a war of
| aggression by a nation that looks for
ward to war as it's normal future and
is always prepared, then nation
seeking war domination of the world
would have an overwhelming advan-
tage over such peace-loving nations
Therefore the President and Congress
were right in keeping open to peace
loving nations the opportunity, when
forced into a war by a nation loving
war and lusting for power, the means
of preparing themselves against such
unjust aggression.
Then Germany sank, without warn
ing, to the depths of the sea a vessel
carrying 5000 innocent souls, and car
ried to their death ia American citi-
zens-men, women and children, babes
in arms. We protested, and Germany's
answer was that the vessel was armed
"a lie that enabled her to continue
the correspondence for one full year.
Then we said, when she sank the Sus-
sex under similar circumstances, with
American citizens on board, 1--WE shall
sever relations with you unless you
discontinue" She discontinued for a
time for the purpose of getting ready
for a more ruthless warfare by con-
tinuing to make the submarines need
ed to carry it on. Then, in January
last, she notified us that she intended
to continue this ruthless warfare and
to sink, without warning, every vessel,
commercial or otherwise, neutral or
miles north and south and 300 miles
east and west of the high seas off
Great Britain, France, and the Medi-
terranean.
said We would, and we returned to the
bosom of his master that philanthro-
pist and eminent Christian statesman
Count Johann Heinrich Won Berns-
torff! They sank at once four Amer
ican sailing vessels and sent to their
death twenty-five American sailors,
and then we declared that war exist
ed. No other path was open to us.
Our rights had not only been invaded,
the rights of our citizens had not only
been violated, but in way that left
us nothing but the duty of offering the
sword of vindication.
In the field of international law, the
rules of war concerning the treatment
of commercial vessels at sea are as
definite as the law in Virginia with re-
spect to promissory notes and real es-
tate. A belligerent may seize the YES
sci and the cargo of his enemy on the
high seas and may sink it. He may
seize a neutral vessel and a cargo vio-
lating the rules of war, but for CEN
tury the rule has been that in doing so,
if he chooses to do So he must put the
crew, the officers, and the passengers
of the captured vessel in a place of
complete safety.
Therefore, when Germany sank the
vessels she did sink, whether of the
enemy or our own as neutrals, know
ing that a sinking without warning in
volved the death of large part of the
company of the vessel sunk, she was
guilty of deliberately taking the lives
of citizens of other countries without
warning and without right.
Now, when man kills another with |
out right, he is guilty of murder There
is no other name that describes the |
crime of a nation which does the same |
thing. But it is said that those who
went ought to have known the risk.
Well. suppose they did. How does |
that change the crime of Germany? |
Continued N Page q. |