Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-16
A BIG JUDGMENT
7 INCLE SAM got soaked for a

INCLE SAM got soaked tor a
twelve million dollar judgment
the other day before The Hague
tribunal. The kingdom of Norway
gets the cash. The circumstances
and the substance of the dispute
are almost forgotten by the Ameri-
a people. In substance these are
the facts. Shortly after the United
States declared war against Ger
many, in August, 1917, it became
apparent at Washington that in
order to win the war it must
requisition all the ships it could
get, and also all the ship building
plants in the country, together
with the material on hand and the
unfinished ships. 1t did so.
Among the unfinished ships in the
stocks in some of these ship build
ing plants were quite a number
being built under contract for Nor
way. The German submarines had
been particularly active against
Norwegian ships. They were near
her submarine bases, and as the
Norwegians were not in sympathy
with Germany, the latter was glad
of a chance to damage the Nor
wegians. In consequence, a Nor
wegian ship could hardly poke its
nose out of its home waters with
out an attack by a German sub
marine. In the early days of the
war the marine losses of Norway
through German submarines were
very heavy. They let Swedish YES
sells alone pretty well, as Sweden
was helping Germany in under
hand ways.
Under these circumstances, the
Norwegian ship yards were
crowded with orders for new ships.
The plucky N~orwegians were
bound not to be driven off the
seas, German submarines or no
submarines. So they gave a lot
of orders TO American ship build
ing wards for new ships before we
entered the war. These ships were
in various stages of completion
in August, 1917, when our gov
eminent took over all the ship
wards in the United States, their
material and unfinished work, their
tools and employees, under the wal
powers granted to the president
The unfinished Norwegian boats
we're taken over with the rest. lr
fact. the N~orwegians claim we
seized some of their ships in these
shipping yards that were entirely
finished and ready to go to sea
Be that as 1t may, by agreement
between the governments OF ths
United States and Norway, The
question of whether the United
States proceeded in accord with
international law in Selling thes,
unfinished ships in American yard:
contracted for by Norway, wa:
submitted to the internationa
tribunal at The Hague. Also thu
question of what damages, if any
the Norwegians were entitled &
collect from the United States
The verdict of The Hague tribuna
has just been given out. TIL
decision is against the Unite'
States, and the Norwegians ar
awarded the sum of twelve millio'
dollars as damages by the court
The cable dispatch from TIL
Hague, printed in Saturdays issu
of this newspaper, states that on
representative on The Hague trib
unal protested the decision on tn
ground that the court exceeded tn
jurisdiction granted by the agree
ment to arbitrate, and also on tn
ground that the decision failed t
give the reasons for such decisio
in each separate case, but onl
gave its reasons for the whole de
cision. Both these reasons appea
to us to be largely technical. An
objection on the ground of juri:
diction should have been made an
insisted on before the decision
The second cause of protest seem
to US on the face OF it rattle
technical. AS both sides agree
before the case was submitted t
arbitration to be bound by the d.
cision of The Hague tribunal, "
hope the administration at Wasl
sngton will take its medicine witt
out making any wry faces over i
The people of the United State
as a rule are good sports. The
know that it is hardly possibl
for an arbitration court to give
decision that will be pleasing