Evening star., 1941-03-31
Says Piracy
Should Be Punished
Writer Wants America
To Declare Blockade
Of England UnIowfuI
To the Editor of The Star:

The existing law of nations postulates
that war is the supreme arbiter in inter-
national disputes, and the right of con-
quest by force is fully recognized. These
rules must be surrendered If durable
peace is to be realized, and they will be
abolished whenever the nations desire
permanent peace. Such rules make OF
international law scabbard from which
the sword of We may be seized at ma
tion's convenience.
To replace them, new concepts must
be accepted by the nations, new edifice
of law, with those concepts as the
foundation, be built; and the glory OF
the structure can be only an interna-
tional court.
AS the right of self-defenSe is inherent
and cannot be resigned by completely
independent state, war cannot be out
lawed absolutely. The remedy here
would be the rule that nations in dis
pute must present their grievances to
the international court for a judicial
determination. No decree of the court
could be enforced, as conStitutionally no
Judgment of the United States Supreme
Court against a State, when States only
are parties to the action, can be en-
forced. The public opinion of men, sup
plemented by treaty engagements of the
nations, operating adversely to any State
desiring to avoid compliance with an
adverse adjudication, would assure re-
spect for the courts decision.
Title to territory by conquest must
cease to be recognized, and the rule
would best be established as law by each
nations remuneration of the right Of
conquest by arms Respect for the rule
could be guaranteed by a treaty pro-
vision binding the nations to exclude
from their society any member state
that is in occupation of any foreign
territory for any object that is not sane
toned by the written law of nations.
Public international law is in most
part susceptible of being reduced to writ
ten form, and ought so to be composed
and published for the realization of bet
ter international relations, for the en-
lightenment Of men and for the promo
ton of justice Written law will be re-
uuired if an international court is Gre
ated.
In the economic sphere new concept
in respect of the nature Of the possess
sion of lands that do not form an in
tegral part of the proprietor nations
territories must be accepted II the ma
tionS seriously desire to diSslpate the
prime lure to conquest in our age. Any
such territory that is autonomous may
be administered as if an independent
state. Those territories, however, that
are governed by the nation owning them
ought to be considered as being in
tutelage for ultimate autonomy or in
dependence and be administered pri-
marily in the interest of the natives. and,
in respect of their resources and econ
omy, be open to the commerce of any
nation equally with the commerce Of the
owner nation. no discrimination in favor
of, or against, any nation being permis-
sible in the projected law.
If Americas intervention. constituting
incomplete war, is not translated to &C
tual war and does not empower England
to compel Germany to submit within
three years. each of those nations by
that time will be indisposed to prosecute
the war to military decision. Peace,
in such an eventuality, would be re-
garded by each power as "a truce only,
| England to recuperate and better or
ganize her empire for renewal OF the
war, and Germany to recuperate and
organize her position in Europe for the
ohi This craPII1a tim
be INDUCED by any who believe that our
interests and those of the earth at large
could tolerate compromise or any peace
except such as may result from the
complete defeat of Germany, the liberia
ton of suppressed nations, and the dis
arming and reconstruction of Central
Europe in the interests of permanent
tranquility. Our Constitution no less
than England's is being warred against;
the Bill of Rights is anathema to the
German government and must be to any
government that diabolizes the brains
of the people to maintain an irresponsi-
BILE control.
An object of Americas Intervention,
besides being to assure the triumph Of
/
surrender of Germany. To achieve this
result, we do not presently go the dis
tance less than war that we might.
Our Government would be justified in
pronouncing that the so-called German
blockade is unlawful, in that blockade
to be legal must be effective, and Ger
many's cannot be enforced, and the
crews of vessels in the "blockaded" zones
are subjected to loss of life unlaWfully
by the German methods of blockade"
German practices are aSsimilated to
piracy and the Constitution grants to
Congress the power to define and punish
piracy and offenses against the law of
nations. No situation could be imagined
that better would recommend the exer-
else of that power than the German
BLOCKADE" If Germany could enforce
an actual blockade of the British Isles,
England might be defeated. A result
of the German piracy is so to modify
Americas assistance to England as to
prolong the war and to increase incal-
culably the American peoples sacrifices.
EDWARD CONN.
Protests Destruction of Trees
On Playground Site.
To the Editor of The Star:
Sometime ago a section at Lamont
opd LJiotf y,1ooa NJ VIZ MIR