Evening star., 1939-10-31

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Every American vessel that departs
for any of our ports can be identi-
fled so that the belligerent powers
will know that it is an American
vessel, that it is not armed, and
that it will submit to visit, search,
and, if necessary, seizure in ac-
cordance with international law.
Under such law there will be no
excuse for the summarizing or de-
Struction of an American merchant
vessel without notice, and without
giving an opportunity for the pres
ervation of the lives on board such
vessel. 1t is true that the belliger-
ent upon searching the vessel may
find contraband, and may condemn
both the ship and the cargo, but
the lives of those on board will be
preserved. The question of the
legality Of such condemnation can
be tested in prize courts, either dur
ing or after the war Such con-
demnation may arouse the indigna-
tion of our citizens, but certainly
not to such a degree as to cause
them to consider war.
Consequences of Defeat.
On the other hand, If the lives
OF our citizens on board our mer-
chant vessels are destroyed without
notice and without opportunity to
escape, then it will be necessary for
the President to establish the COM
bat area as provided in the act.
Let it be remembered that if the
act had been defeated in the Sem
ate. or if it is defeated in the House
Of Representatives that then there
will be no cash-and-carry law or
any combat area law on our statute
books. If the act is defeated, then
our vessels can legally engage in
commerce with warning powers as
they did in 1917 and can carry
guns for defense while engaged in
commerce with neutrals adjacent to
belligerents; and these vessels will
be sunk, in all probability, as they
were sunk in 1917. And the lives
of our seamen will be lost and our
people will become excited, indig-
nant, angry, hysterical. and violent,
and they may demand war as they
did in 1917.
1t was not the loss of money or
the illegal destruction of our prop
erty that inflamed the minds of our
citizens and engendered the uncon-
trollable spirit of war in 1917. For
over two years we bore the illegal
destruction of our property with
out threat of war. While our
people unqualifiedly condemned. with
righteous indignation, the illegal
and inhuman sinking of the Lusi-
tania without notice, resulting in
the great loss of life. including the
lives of l28 of our citizens, our Gov
ernment realizing the horrors of war
and longing for peace, did not de-
clare war then, as urged by Theo-
dore Roosevelt, because our citizens
were not without blame. The Lusi-
tania was British ship. 1t was
sailing from the United States to
Great Britain. 1t was carrying con-
traband of war to Germany's enemy.
Germany had warned American
citizens before the Lusitania sailed
to keep off the ship. 1t is true that
our citizens. under international
law, had legal right to travel upon
such ship. During over two years
others of our citizens lost their lives
on belligerent vessels, but there was
no necessity for their being upon
such vessels, and they had been
warned by our Government of the
danger.
1t is now made unlawful for our
citizens to travel upon belligerent
| vessels.
I do not recite these facts in
justification of the brutal subma-
rining of passenger vessels without
opportunity for the preservation of
the lives of those on board. I re-
call to your mind these facts to en-
phasize the absurdity of the SANDER
GUS charge that our Government
was influenced by munition makers
or bankers or by loss of property or
the danger of lost moneys loaned
to the belligerents.
Certainly when we restrained our
selves, even in such conditions, we
could not have been influenced to
war because of the mere loss OF
property.
Acts That Drew Us Into War.
Then the question naturally arises
"What acts did force us into the
WARP" The answer is definite and
certain. 1t was the unlimited SUBJ
marine warfare conducted by the
German government against our
neutral commerce and our merchant
vessels in March and April, 1917
From March II until April 4, the
Germans summarized and sank eight
of our merchant vessels on the high
seas without notice, resulting in the
loss of lives of 63 American sea-
men.
These vessels were not sunk upon
the excuse that they were carrying
arms and ammunition. No such
protest was ever made by Germany
No American vessel was sunk fol
any such alleged cause. They were
sunk because they could legally
carry anything to Germany's enemy
Germany was fighting just as fierce.
ly to prevent wheat, cotton, iron
steel, copper and other raw ma.
terials, not now included on the EN-.
barge list, from reaching her enemy
as she was to stop the delivery o.
arms and ammunition.
If our embargo law had been or
our statute books and in effect dur.
ing the World War, would it have
prevented Germany from submarin.
ing our merchant vessels in 1917;
Obviously, 1t would not. Would thu
embargo act have any effect during
this war? Certainly not. Then how
will the embargo on arms and am
munition even tend to save the live
Of our seamen, when our vessel