The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-06-27
S6HHcllIcE s0F /
HUNS SUBMARINE
Fabric of International Economic
Life Is Threatened.
DEPENDING ON LAND POWER
Aims Must Be Thwartsd,
Forcing Her to the Sea and OBJ
ssrvanes Of lts RuIes Of
Freedom.


Forcing Her to the Sea and OBJ
ssrvanes Of lts RuIes Of
Freedom.
By FRANK J. oooDNoW.
(Ffom the Committee on Public Informa-
ton. 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 tho present century 1t
may be said that no country which has
any marked development has been self
sufncient. The products Of the trop-
les have become articles of necessity
to the Inhabitants Of the temperate
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, II felt in distant
lands. Drought In the Australian an
tipodes makes It dimcult 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-
milton 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 sea II free to all who
desire to use It. unmolested from at
tack. Their interruption a. q result
Of the naval operations Of the present
war has been followed BY scarcity In
many countries.
established fact only in comparatively
recent times. 4 peruAal Of the quaint
phrassology Of some marine insurance
policies, Often still retained beyond
the times to which It IL applicable. re-
veals the dangers incident to ocean
travel not % many years ago. Pirates.
potentates and princes all combined
not 10 long ago to make the risks Of
ocean travel extra hazardous. The
claims Of potentates and princes to
monopoliss the ocean were recognized
a. Incapable Of Justification only few
hundred ysars back. Pirates still
piled their nefArious trade within the
memory Of living men. Indeed. pirates
are stin 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 piratical attack, a. was
universally the case the world over
not much more than one hundred years
ago.
No Peculiar Rights % osa.
Tho freedom Of the ssa against pi-
ratical attack was secured By the
united snorts Of an seafaring nations
who treated the pirate n 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 A. Spain and Portu-
gal had with papal sanction once set
up. Apart from the influence Of prin-
ciples of justice, 1t was found a.
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. Csaseless hostility
between seafaring powers would have
followed the application Of any other
policy, a. 1t did actually follow the
monopolistic attempts Of Spain.
0h@ ~s~r0An~nn~ - hA ~vphvvp nina
which has nrst been used In the war
now raging consists In the fact that
its use 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 1t has as yet been discovered.
II 1t is used as 1t has been in the past
few years by a nation whose chief con-
cern 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 sea-
faring nations are concerned. But
where the submarine II used by power
whose interests are continental rather
than oceanic the game which IN played
IL quite q one-sided one. All the pow
er which IL attacked can do IL to en-
deavor to destroy AZ many submarines
A. possible. and recent experience
would 60 to show that such q 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 reprissls are Inn