Evening star., 1922-01-11
Restraining Submarine Warfare.

BY adopting unanimously the Root
activities in time Of war the Wash
ington conference has. in the opinion
Of the New York Tribune (repub-
lican) met successfully "the acid test
of its intentions" Briefly, the Root
resolution reiterates the existing law
Of nations with respect to the use OF
submarines as commerce destroyers.
"the practical impossibility of using
submarines as commerce destroyers"
without violating that law, a pro-
hibition of such use of underse >.Graft
shall be universally accepted"
not disposed to argue the question OF
whether or not any vessel. whether
of the surface or beneath it, may le-
gally sink merchant vessels without
warning or without placing crew and
passengers in safety This country
tered the war" And by concurring in
the American viewpoint the confer
ence, the Philadelphia Bulletin (inde-
pendent republican, thinks, has done
no more than ::ciyilization could ex.
pect from any body Of international
representatives"
But while conceding that the "hu-
manizing" of the submarine is worth
striving for as doctrine, a large
part of American editorial opinion is
far from satisfied with 1t as a means
Of stopping "frightfulness." The very
statement Of a code that was ruth
lessly violated when put to the test is
"a sufhcient measure of its futility,
as the Pittsburgh Dispatch Qnde-
pendent) expresses It.
However. lacking the will or the
ability to abolish the submarine alto
gether. the conference has found the
way Of reducing it to an absurdity."
the New Haven Register Undepend-
en) believes, by imposing conditions
(which will make 1t mighty poor
insurance risk in the first place. and
wives" All that it Is possible to do.
In view OF the refusal Of nations to
ostracize the "undersea assassins,"
the Christian Science Monitor (Bos-
ton: independento says: says is to take take
they say they desire to use them
simply as a weapon Of defense, and
so to leave those who dare to depart
from any undertaking they may en-
ter into to- the execration of hu-
regulations under which they will
operate render them worthless in
time Of war, for it Is generally ad-
mitted, according to the New York
Times independent democratic) that
when acting as an aggressor Sub
requirements" Certainly one that
played the game according to the
Root rules would catch very few
merchantmen" the Cleveland Plain
Dealer independent democratic) pre-
diets. "and would be safely excluded
fNayVo tho fald NJ fr1p
This paper contends that "the sub
marine should be completely abo1-
ished. but II abolition Is impossible
1t cannot be amiss to curb its ac-
tivites and to outlaw definitely its
the Boston Transcript Independent
republican, replies that the nature Of
these prohibitions is such as "to con-
stitute. in effect. an abolition" for.
as the Brooklyn Eagle independent
while submarine building may con-
tinue on a large scale. the ships
themselves cannot be effectively used
by any nation without going even
further than Germany did in out
raging humanity"
weapon was perfectly clear when
the world war began" the Charles
ton Is. CO. News and Courier (demo-
cratic) recalls. "and Germany vio-
assS It in the aa.t Tns 'as Was tAHs Hstb;na T
whatever is gained by drawing up
rules limiting the use ,of war
weapons. II the nations possess those
weapons-and they mean to possess
them-they WIN in war time use them
to the limit" To q world which
remembers the horrors wrought BY
the undersea boat in the late war"
the Butte (Mont-) Post lrepublican)
thinks any suggestion OF regulation
"seems of little worth" The Muske-
gon Chronicle Independently also
questions "the efficacy of this plan
II it is ever put to q test"
Indeed. "it has so often been
demonstrated that there is no such
thing in war as International law"
that the Akron Beacon-Journal ire
publican) considers 1t '1udicrous to
hear men Of Mr.. Roots standing
talking about laying down rules that
win Be observed" Declarations and
resolutions regulating submarine
warfare promulgated by the Wash
ington conference are Of doubtful
value at best, in the opinion Of the