El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-26

of heartening our people, who are
| VIGOROUSLY ignorant of our actual
| economic conditions and all that
/ threatens them
Take. for example. that branch Of
| commerce with which 1 am supposed
to be familiar-shipping- What sorry
| lies have been dished up to our people
| on this subject One reads Of the re-
! sounding hammer strokes Of riyeters
/ as they work at the creation Of new
| leviathans for our overseas commerce
! Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Danzig, Stet-
tin, are supposed to be buzzing with
shipbuilding. Not long ago one journal
! asserted that nearly 400, 900 tons were
/ almost ready for launching! And
! there is hardly a veStige OF truth in
! any Of these statements. Our yards
are only working for the navy, and,
as for other ships, we have not the
material or accommodation, and,
above all, we have not the necessary
! labor, skilled and unskilled-
a Critical Five Years.
Believe me when L say that our
/ mercantile marine is in a perilous
condition. The bill to reestablish and
! strengthen it which is now before the
/ reichstag. even If passed in its in
| tegrity, will show no results for at
/ least five years, and it is in these five
I years that our fate will be most ad-
versely influenced What will not
! our great maritime competitors make
/ of these five years-Great Britain, the
! states, Japan What will not neu-
trails make of them-neutrals who
| have enormously added to their re-
serve capital-Norway, Denmark, Hol-
landy 1 almost despair when think
how different it all might have been
You and J. dear herr privy councillor,
were never advocates Of this fatal
policy of unrestricted submarine war
fare You well rem EN- Der how / went
g 3
lhe authorities I begged them to re-
fleet, and they told me the country
insisted on it. This was not true. 1
pointed out how it would inevitably
draw America into the conflict They
poOh-hoOed me, smiled at America,
and scorned her threat. Do they smile
noWE Let me tell you, in my opinion,
the entry of the United States into
this struggle may spell absolute dis
aster for us.
Our people have little or no knowl-
edge of the American character. You
and have made a most careful study
OF It. That stuff our publicistS and
journalists write about their Mammon
worship, their greed. their envy of
other nations their lack Of discipline
oh, that blessed word, disciplined
You and I know that the Americans
are probably the most idealistic ma
ton on the earth s surface We know
that they would not have entered the
lists Of our foes had they had any
doubt as TO the justice Of their cause. !
Nonsense TO say they have been in
fluenced by Britain. We are mad not
to see where we are, and whittier we |
are driving In antagoniZing America ]
we have done a disastrous thing, a /
thing which will throw its cold
shadow on our economic life for a
generation
But if I am concerned about our I
-T=rae l.4- -s@n- -
still more anxious about our relations /
with Britain 1 realize as never be-
fore that all the increase in our !
wealth, all the success which attended 1
our enterprises in the years before the |
war, were owing TO our intercourse /
with the British empire. Her home /
ports, her dOminiOns and colonies
were freely opened to our shippers
and traders Sometimes 1 wondered |
at this generosity, and even called it 1
folly Is it to be imagined for a mo- |
ment that those old relations Will |
return?
Britain's War Policy.
am not 10 be supposed. uear Herr !
Geheimrat, as saying one word in /
favor Of Britain's policy in this war. /
I believe that she entered 1t from /
base motives. Not for a moment do 4
believe in her humanitarianism, her |
alleged desire to Gberate or protect |
small natiOnalities. Britain is a greedy
and INSCRIPTIONS power, as all her /
past history proves, but now I am
only dealing with the fact that by /
our conduct Of this war, by the un- |
speakable press, we have turned her 4
lnDorn dislike OF US into a lOathing
SO cold and fierce and lasting as /
sometimes TO make me tremble for |
the whole future Of our economic ex-
istence-
Consider what we are risking. We
look forward TO resuming our sea |
trade We build our proudest expec-
tation on this. How are we to re-
sumo it in face Of an AnglO-Exaondom /
which loathes and must lOathe our
presence among them Do our fools |
OF Chauvinists realize that we have
hardly port at which our ships can /
call and where a friendly welcome /
viii be extended to themi Dover, Fall !
mouth and Southampton, Gibraltar. l
and Alexandria, Alden, the Persian l
gulf, Bombay and Colombo. Singa- /
pore and Hong Kong-what.are they2
Great Britain arsenals. naval bases. |
coaling stations, repairing docks. in |
which we dare not show our faces |
If Britain so wills It is the same /
around that African continent. the |
same in the West Indies and in the /
Pacific. We have not a coaling sta
ton OF our own, not a place where 1
we can effect repairs. Yet in face of /
thls-a most deadly. serious state of /
aftairs-we go on piling up offence /
on offence.
But we must beat England. YOU
say, no matter what the conse-
quences. I agree. All I say is that
whether We beat her or she beats US.
the consequences will be the same
disaster to our overseas trade If
Britain so wills it. We may, in the
event OF victory. impose all sorts of
conditions securing US most favored
nation treatment, securing US free en-
try into British ports everywhere.
No sane man believes that these con-
ditions viii help US
And just one point more, and it is
perhaps quite as serious With a
hostile British empire, CALLED and
tretted with our military success.
raging at its losses, hopelessly
alienated. how are we to procure the
raw material which this empire alone
can supply You have studied this
question, and I am sure of your
agreement You do not believe in the
silly assertion that after the war
these British markets for raw ma
terial viii be open to US Where. are
we TO procure our supplies of lutte
II not from India2 If we are driven
from Africa, where are we to seek
our full supplies of rubber, palm kerr
nels and copra?
What a prospect Within the Brit
ISL empire are produced countless. ar
llcles on which we have hitherto re-
lied. and which viii be Indispensable
IN the future If we are to swim and
not TO sink Wool from South Africa
4na Australia, spelter. wolfram, CO.
bait, nickel and endless more. That
great nn1mfrp fc salt