Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-07

freedom OF the seas in modern timesJ
BY EDWARD PRICE BELL.
Liberty, according to the argument
already submitted, is historical con-
tribution of sea power. Napoleonisn
and the intensified reaction of the holy
alliance strove to drown liberty in blood
Hohenzollernism and Hapsburgism mo.
bilized their utmost resources, domestic
and foreign, in the same cause.
Those are the two unequaled exam
piles of land power at war with pop.
ular rights and rule, and in both cases
naval power, central in the sea expert
ence and development OF Britain
brought democracy through the crises
with its authority and prestige, in gen.
eral, not only undiminished, but mag.
nif1ed far beyond their former prop
portions.
In the article Immediately preceding
the present the opinion is expressed
that, as We have looked to the sea fol
liberty, so we must look to it for peace
And the article ends, "Imperishable in
memory would be the Forthcoming
London Naval Conference If it solved
the problem of making sea strength
and peace strength synonymous terms
in world affairs"
Wherein lies sea powers peace
strength?
Naval Powers Peaceful.
It lies, primarily, in the spirituality
and the mentality Of the nations pre-
dominant at Sea-Britain, America,
Japan, France and Italy, to place them
in the order of their momentary mari
time standing. No claim remotely Is
suggested that these nations are the
worlds spiritual or mental elect; the
| xI1ok Nf
ticular quality as to character and en-
lightenment and that they are the
strongest nations at sea.
What sort Of characters and minds
have they?
without exception-I think one safe
" may omit qualification-their char
| acters are of uneXcelled firmneSS and
genuinely peaceful. What feeble PEG.
| pie want makes small difference; what
| a firm people wants makes much
| difference. Britain, America. Japan,
France and Italy are stout-willed. sol.
| idly based, highly organized, rational
states, experienced in the most dlfncult
processes of diplomacy and armed with
| those weapons which Admiral Mahan
has shown to be invincible In war.
Vigorous National Temperaments.
OF such sort are the morality and
the politics of the principal sea pow
ers--their spirituality and its transla-
ton into statehood. What OF their
mentality? It-as always happens, ]
| suppose-runs with their constitutional
propensities. AS they feel, SO they
| think. They have vigorous minds, EN-.
cient minds, constructive mlnos. AnG 9
| they know war. They know war and
dislike it, disbelieve in 1t, are sensible
of a peculiar duty laid upon them TO
| GET IL ont of the world.
By constitution and conviction, then,
the ascendant oceanic peoples. WORKING
together, are mighty force for peace.
Now let us consider these nations IN
| their physical relations to peace: we
have seen that their morality. poiltlcs'
stitute an extraordinary reservoir OF
peace strength. How about their pos.
sessions in the physical realm? What
significance have these respecting the
problem of putting an end to wal:
| What would be the state of mind OF
would-be aggresSors, would-be Vloiators
of the law of international peace, II the
rulers Of the sea said to them: Gen,
tlemen, your intended enterprise snall
be isolated from every physical thing
we can control?"
Isolation Hats War.
The state of mind Of the gentlemen
| so addressed, we may be sure, would not
be easy. It would be uneasy, because
war. as practiced in these days OF unan-
unity of national participation, Is the
most voracious and Unsuitable Of all
consumers, and because the naval pow
ers more especially Britain and Amert-
ca, control the bulk Of the raw materials,
which are the main requisites OF war.
And not only this Within the circle OF
sea power are the worlds great centers
of credit, without which no prospect OF
prolonged war, to say the least, would De
excessively alluring.
One does not state that war cannot
] happen without money. Men can fight,
at any rate for time, on the mere
shadow of finance, as has been proved
| in many parts of the world. But In
yariably such fighting has its long sequel
of bitterness. The more than ordinarily
evil consequences Of acquiring war on
the hire-purchase plan are SO we'll
known on every continent tnat the oe-
vice Is in thorough disrepute. People
have learned that, while warfare may be
possible by setting the printing presses
in motion, only the toll OF generations
can discharge the debt. Popular repug-
nance to paying for wars which nobody
can afford is a by no means negligible
propellant of the current converging de-
mand for peace.
Raw Materials Necessary.
But whether loans from abroad are
necessary to war or not, some things
Enthusiastically are. Coal oil, iron and
rubber, for instance, basically are neceS-
sary to war, and they are a long way
from being distributed evenly among
the nations. Britain and America, in
company, have the mastery Of the over
wheiming portion Of these products, the
one strong In coal, iron and rubber, the
other in COAL oil and iron. Between
them the empire and the republic are
said to produce two-thirds of the 2.000,-
600. 900 tons Of mineral now consumed
by the world annually.
All subject to sea poweri
Rich as are these countries in most of
the essentials of peace and war, neither
is c!f-suff1cient-no nation is self-suf-
ficient. Britain and America combined,
scattered as they are and controlling as
they do so great part of the world,
are still dependent upon many minerals
for their ordinary activities In peace,
and yet more SO In war.
Lacks 80 Commodities.
, In "Europe's Economic Sunrise"
, (published by the Daily News in 1920
80 critical" or strategic" materials
are named as unavailable in the United
States, and in the annual report Of the
Secretary of War for 1929 26 are
listed-antimonSs camphor, chromium,