Evening star., 1939-10-06

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to recently expressed suppositions in
the press, the United States and the
other countries of this hemisphere
need not use physical force at all,
but merely need apply economic
pressure to attain compliance.
Both the North and South Amer
lean continents contain supplies vi
tally needed by both sets of bellig-
erents. While it is true that direct
German purchases have been dis
continued, nevertheless indirect pur-
chases through European neutrals
like Russia and Italy, as we'll as the
Scandinavian countries are well
within the control of the PAN
American republics.
There is not the slightest need to
use a naval patrol to keep bellig-
erent ships out of the safety zone, "
for the United States and Pan
American countries will shortly no.
tify the belligerents that trade
within the safety zone must not be
molested if the belligerents are to
continue to be permitted to obtain
supplies from the Americas.
Conforms to Precedent.
The proclamation of safety zone
conforms to precedents established
in various so-called prize court de-
cisions and awards of international
arbitration tribunals dealing with
blockade 1t is established
rule that notice of blockade must
be specific and that zones of block
ade can be delimited so that any
neutral vessel seeking to enter
such zone may be captured. But
there is no justification in the prece-
dents for making the whole ocean
a blockaded zone. The Pan-Ameri-
can republics, whose representatives
met at Panama, were modest in
their outline of the area to be in
cluded under the safety zone, for
logically neutrals could have in
sisted that no shipping shall be
interfered with unless destined for
Europe, and only then for countries
contiguous to the belligerents.
The idea that ship plying be-
tween New York and Rio de Janiero
is subject to a submarine blockade
by Germany or naval blockade
by the British is so contrary to prec-
edents of the past that it is difficult
to see how the outline of a safety
zone can with logic be protested
unless some abuse of the privilege
should develop within the zone
among belligerent vessels of either
group-the allies or the dictator
ships.
Destination alone justifies seizure
and condemnation of ship and cargo
in voyages to ports under blockade,
and even mere sailing toward a
blockaded area has not been held to
sanction detention of ship or cargo
In the famous "Peterhoff" case
involving damage claims, it was de-
cided that vessel destined for a
. neutral port with no ulterior desti-
nation for herself and none by sea
for her cargo to blockaded place
violates no blockade.
Grew From Last War.
The whole doctrine of submarine
warfare arose in the last war
through the formal announcement,
first by Great Britain of blockade
In the North Sea against Germany
and subsequently counter blockade
of even wider extent by the Berlin
admiralty. The announced inten-
ton of conducting unrestricted
submarine warfare" by Germany
related solely to the blockaded war
zones and made access to neutral
ports in Europe virtually impos-
sible to American ships.
In the present instance, however,
the United States and her sister
republics have not sought to discuss
or bubble about the extent of the
blockaded zones adjacent to Euro
pean countries, but have merely set
up counterpart of the theory of
blockade-a safety zone within
which neutrals expect to be able to
carry on legitimate trade without
searches or seizure. Since every
country can control its own exports,
violation of the safety zone may
become the basis for joint embargoes
to be imposed by some or all of the
Pan-American republics. It seems
a safe assumption that if the safety
zone is formally outlined in notifi-
cation to the belligerent govern
ments there would be little likeli-
hood of violation
1t is not customary to make
threats or mention possible penalties
in international relations, so Ger
many and Britain can only infer
what might happen if they violate
the safety-zone proclamation. Both
the German and British naval COM
manders probably will get instruc-
tions soon to do nothing within the
safety zone which might possibly
produce complications with the re-
publics of North and South America.