Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 40, Number 231, 9 September 1915 — Page 14

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Sir Gilbert Parker, the Famous English Writer, in a rlemarkable Article Outlines the Debt Which Europe Already Owes to the United States, and Defines "The

Searching Test That a Nation Standing Outside the Ring lofr Fighters"

By Sir Gilbert Parker, M. P. TVT7AR la the-supremo test ot the qualities X . or a nation. and It will be admitted by Independent opinion In neutral . countries that the people of Great Britain have toed the test well. Peace baa 1U great teats, alio, and the country , that standi outalde the ring of lighters la tested almost as ssarcblngly s any .belligerent country. ' The belligerent country has not to welch Its very action with exquisite nlcetr. because war gives wide . liberty, though It still most walk with guarded footsteps where neutral nations 'are concerned; It must hare strict regard tor. their rights under the rules of international , law and the long precedents of naval warfare. The neutral country, however, which stands, as It were, between the combatants, holding the balance level, has a task that tests its statesmanship and the character of Its people as It Is never tested la ordinary peace times, - or In ordinary war times.' In this extraordinary war the American Government and American people have been supremely tested, -and tney have stood the test nobly. The United States the chief of all the neutral nations has a gravely Important part to nlax doth, from the moral, and from what may b called the political side. --Four-of the greatest mr.tons of the- world are at war. and i( is natural that each, of the. two , sets of .belligerents wish fcr the moral support et ninety millioas -of- people, - whose- powerthrough their Government to affect the ultimate result oT 'the "war by ' theft ihflue'uce with other - neutral countries,, cannot .be. overestimated. Official bias in dealing with questions such as contraband, purchase of ships, block- . ade .and ' so on. toward either combatant a preference which would be a variation from the strict rules of neutrality from the mercantile aide, affecting supplies of all kinds would . have as serious an . effect .upon .the .ultimata decision -of the war as active participation. It must be- said that, hr a poiftton of Immense delicacy, hp. United. States, has .Inter-, preted her official neutrality with an uninv - awe enable fidelity -to long established rules: flie position is not a new one. Every great antral nation In turn has bad to face the same delicate and . intricate problems in time of war, and every Government one time or another has been attacked by the people of its own country as well as by- the belligerents -for not departing from strict neutrality to meet a by no means Strictly controlled public sentiment Never, however, since the rules controlling the conduct of nations In time of war have taken form. either by precedent or by the written rule of the Declaration of Paris, has any neutral nation bad to face the difficulties attached to Its neutrality such as have faced the United States since August, 1914. She has had to make, protest, or to seek explanation, of acts of naval warfare of this country in which, there were certainly elements of anxiety for' our Foneign Office and the Government; but. whether it was the question of the Dacla and the purchase of ships,-of the Wllhelmina and contraband, or the new blockade, which differed from other blockades of the past in that it was wider in area and yet less severe upon neutrals, a tempcrateness, a courtesy and a moderation have becu shown for; which this country cannot be too grateful. "That" temperateness, moderation and conr tesy, however, bnye not by a hair's breadth Infringed the right's of our oes under international law. Since this war began there has breathed through th official actions of ' the American Government in relation to this conn try the spirit of Abraham Lincoln : and no higher tribute can be paid to anil- Rovc-nn-t than that. Lincoln's Example in International Questions. At the time of the Civil War a uio. -j; cat Question arose between the United States and this country, namely, the seUure of the British packet-ship Trent by the United States man-of-war San Jacinto. On board the Trent were two . representatives of the secession government, Messrs. Mason and SUdell. The British Government demanded the release of the envoys, on the. ground that the Trent should not have been seised, and that under the British flag the two envoys were immune from capture. The British Government protested. The cry. They shall never be given up," was universally heard la the United States. Public opinion was stormy and Indignant Then It was that Lincoln, in peril of his own political position, of his influence upon bis own people, and at a most crltloal time in the history, of the Civil War. instated that the seisure was not lawful under international law; declared that Great Briton was adhering to principles for which the United States had gone to war with her In 1811. and that Mason and SUdell must be given p. In the face of threats and widespread anger, Lincoln stood by the principles of international law, not as a pedant, but as a patriot, to whom the perfect honor of his people and kit country was more than all else. Every effort has been made by Germany, through political- pressure by German-Americans, by the incitement of racial feeling cultivated by the German Ambassador and by Herr Dernburg's publicity bureau, with Its Immense ramifications, to move President Wilson toward an abandonment of the strict rules of neutrality by prohibiting the export of munitions of the war to the Allies. Had President Wilson yielded to this political pressure he would have . sacrificed . that . neutrality which, with a great anxiety and diligent care, his Government has steadfastly preserved. That Germany cannot avail herself of the open market for munitions of war In the United States is due to the fact that with her great navy, which for. twenty-five years she has steadily developed, she is unable. In the presenoe of the British naval force., to protect those munitions ot war and supplies which she would buy of the United States IT the could. Great Britain's army on the Continent of Europe is infinitely smaller than . that of Germany, and Is. therefore, at a great disadvantage. Germany's navy is smaller than that of Great Britain, and Is - therefore at a disadvantage; and the United States would Indeed be perform Ing an unneutral act if it sought, by abandoning the ordinary rules of neutrality, to adjust those disproportions between the two belligerents on land or sea by whatever means. The American Government baa pursued the only policy possible to a nation desirous of preserving its deservedly high reputation In the field of diplomacy. . .Its foreign, policy has. never

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' tiSssssi'. ... ...."..Sir; Oilbcrt -'Parker,. M. Ps . . ... d deviated from the straight line of perfect reW bJ remaining outside the ring of .this con- - trT.n tM hintnrv test her Government . neutral off iciaUy and ttfd in all its history. . . firmly impartial. That does not mean, howIt has been in tune d-sympathy with the - - - ever that. the people of the United States shall . nignmtndedness and sensible idealism of the . not be vocal in their sympathy, and lndivldu-- v ( American-people in regard to great events' In , ' ally active, according to. conscience, in support T'3 "r Ct!cSi&?Stf&. state of Belgium The in-fluence of American pubUc opinion is aa- to-day if the United States had abandoned her ways thrown on the side of right as that opin- neutrality in favor of the Allies. Millions in ion sees it, not on the side of prejudice. It can Belgium would be starving. Since August last tie truthfully said that the American people the United States has been busy in the interstand for "Charity to all and malice toward ests of humanity, lessening the horrors of war ucne." It is not surprising, therefore, that all by hospital relief, providing comforts and nethe combatants in this greatwar desire at least cessities througb an awful Winter for the American good opinion, while Germany has do- wounded of all the nations engaged; and every sired, not only the good opinion, but an active , week there comes from her shores the .especial support not through 'armies and navies, but gifts of each State ships loaded with flour and through the manipulation and distortion ot food of all kinds for a people whose land has iieutrol rights In her favor. . !, - . been denuded, as locusts ravage the fields or The -Use of German-American political In- ripened grain and leave them bare. If for no , fiuence and the threat ot what it could do, was other reason the neutrality of the United States not a very logical position for a logical nation should be welcomed by every British man. bf like the Germans to take up; because if the cause of what she had done for suffering, str feeling, or influence, of sections of the Amer- ing. tortured Belgium, lean people are to be considered, then, on the basis of the majority ruling, the American Gov-- Value of American eminent must have abandoned its strict neu- N.irf.i:;-'ii. o i trality in the favor of the Allies; for we are neutrality to tne Belgians. assured from a thousand quarters in the United If humanity is indebted to the United States States that the overwhelming majority of "the Government for the incalculable service it has SswiJS, rendTf FTtf re,lerto rJZ viciously by the Germans themselves. grateful should this country be to the AmerThere, are those, however, in this country lean Government for the services rendered to who have been as Illogical, as unreasonable our thousands of poor prisoners in Germany, and as unwise as the Germans. They have The American Ambi isadors in London and oeen unable to understand why, when the Eerlin, and the whole Ambassadorial staff, have American people, by an Immense majority, fa- been placed at the service of our suffering ' vored the cause of the AU)es. the American wounded and our helpless officers and men. Government should remain neutral, or should who have had insufficient' clothing, insufficient not completely and openly support the Allies. food, and have suffered as no German prlsThey cannot understand -why the United States oners have been compelled to suffer in this should not officially have condemned Cfermany country. Even at this day, in spite of the profor its violation of Belgian neutrality. The posals made by the British Government for gosltion is shortsighted and unjust I do not an agreed system of treatment of prisoners by esltate to say that the universal condemns- both countries, and in spite of what the Amertlon of the violation of Belgian neutrality, with . lean Embassies have done, the suffering still the cruel and murderous treatment of the Bel- is unpardonably great. It would have been gian people, through a process of official atro- terrible, however, had not the American Emcity committed on such towns as Dinant. Aer- bassy officials, with a disregard for ail perschot. Malines. Louvain and Termonde. has ia sonal considerations or of the labor imposed us spontaneity and freedom from official direo- upon them, performed a daily service 'as chivtlon. an Infinitely greater effect upon the world , alroua as It was Insistent for our unfortunate than any official: reproach, with its carefully fighting men in captivity, worded phrases, could have had. Few people in the United States' -conceive The newspapers and the people of the United that It is the duty of their Government to Join States nave - been free to express themselves - ' in this conflict; but it if were the dutr of the untrammeled by anv complications which American Government to engage in it, and it might have occurred if, for instance, Germany refrained, it is the American people, not ourhad told the United States to mind her own selves, who should protest and make their Govbusiness on the receipt of an official note con- ernment do its duty. The American people veylng reproach. The reply to the few dl- have a certain prejudice in favor of making up satisfied people here to this would be, "Ah, their -own minds; and: that is why they havs then, the United States, if she were challenged resented so strenuously and scathingly the -by Germany, would abandon her neutrality and campaign ot. the German press bureau In the take part in the war on the side ot the Allies I United States. To very many others, however, It -is Infinitely Newspaper men in this country will gallantly better for the world's sake, and I believe for agree that the American press has exhibited our own. that the United States ' should not' ' the greatest enterprise and shown extraordabandon her neutrality. lnary ability in dealing with the war in their It may be that many , more nations than are editorial columns. We hear more often than now at war In Europe will be involved before ts agreeable to those wbo. know the real facts Summer has come. In the interests of a stable of the .sensationalism of American newspapers. civilisation it is essential that the steadying, Well, in any case, that sensationalism in most wholesome, dispassionate 1 and honorable to- cases does not oxtend to editorial : columns. fluence of the United States should, unhamp- Bold type and leading and catch-headings are ered by the terrible restrictions of belligerency. no longer the monopoly of the American press: be used In the Interests of the whole world, and and sometimes I anv not sure whether I am in particularly la the Interests of the small na- Broadway or .Piccadilly when 1 open a newstlons In the whole world when the end Of this paper in my bed in the morning. When 1 see war comes.' Against militarism, and the re- heading running acrpes a page in type asuits of militarism, the United States Is op- half-inch In size. I feel that I ought to order a . posed to a man. 8he will decide she has de- clam chowder and Johnny-cake for breakfast cided for herself whether this nation and this The knowledge, information and capacity which Empire is a militaristic nation and Empire. have marked the . leading, articles in many We do not fear her scrutiny In this regard: American papers since the war began re a we welcome the closest study of our policy and- credit to Journalism. The treatment ot diffV our practice and that is why the vast ma- - cult questions between England and the United Jority of us in this country feel that the United , States, like that of contraband, purchase of States can serve the best Interests, of 'etviilsa- ships, blockade., etc.. has been remarkably ; re- .

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strained and courteous far inore-o.that if the questions were purely local ones and concerned only their own Government. : ?' '' . ' Tef American' people have madel ap their minds; regarding this war, as they do about most questions relating to countries la Europe, quite independently of any racial, prejudice. The American people are not. with Great Britaln in this war because so many Americana are come of British stock; they were' not 'with us in the Boer War; they do not allow the fact that -they speak the English language to influence them in favor of the English. The South spoke English when the North determined to compel it to remain within the Union. No, the American people are with us not because of common racial origin or sentiment, but because they think we are right and that Germany is wrong; because of their hatred ot the violation of Belgian neutrality; because they detest the militarism which would Impose one civilization and one set of national theories by force of arms upon the rest of the world. Instead of being prejudiced in our . favor be -cause of ties of language or of origin, the American people have been largely prejudiced la favor of Germany over many years. They have regarded German universities as fountains ot modern culture, research and disciplined thought In every Important American college are German teachers, or German-taught teachers; and American boys and girls have been educated la ' Germany by tens of thousands. The Americas people have had a great admiration for German unity and Bismarck; they have had a wholesome respect for what ther believe to be the homely virtues of. the German people as a whole; but they are convinced that the German people have been misled and misdirected by the militarists who have Prussianised Germany and would Prussianise the world. Americans the Best Arbiters of the War. '-T8;' I ask such fellow-countrymen of mine as have been Impatient with the Government at Wash-, ington whether they have fully estimated the value of the moral, support given to us by the people of the United States. Is there no material power in sympathy? The voice that says outside the ring, "Your cause is Just, fight on." gives a higher voltage of energy. Sympathy maketh for understanding, and that understanding was never more valuable than when we departed from the old traditional blockade and relied upon the United States Jo see that our interpretation ot the principles 'of international iaw had not been changed by the new practice we were compelled to make.. Sympathy disarms suspicion of motive and of act. The withholding of that -sympathy by the American people would mean a reduction in our na tional strength, would close up avenues of moral support worth, twenty army corps. --- I received a pathetic letter from a veteran of the American Civil War living in Boston. and owning a name . familiar to all Americans. He. said: "You want our sympathy. I can understand how much you want it by the extent we wanted yours in bur Civil War. and were not secure of it. Well, you have our sympathy .with all our hearts." , Nothing that has ever been said upon this matter of international sympathy and moral support has the meaning and poignancy of the reply of Abraham Lincoln to an address from the workingmen of Lancashire. Amelrcans should remember what Lancashire suffered in the American Civil War through the blockade enforced against the South, and that' these very Lancashire men. suffering from unemployment and on the verge of starvation, still had the courage and magnanimity to offer their sympathy to Lincoln's Government, which was cutting them off from work and food. To their noble utterance, this was Lincoln's reply: "I know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the workingmen of Manchester, and in all Europe, are called to endure in this crisis, It has been often and studiously represented that the attempt to overthrow this Government which was built on the foundation of human rights, and to substitute for it one which should rest exclusively on the basis of human slavery was likely to obtain the favor of Europe. . Under the circumstances, I cannot but regard your decisive utterances upon the question as an - instance of sublime Christian heroism, which has not been surpassed in any age or in any country. . . .. I do not doubt that the sentiments you have expressed will be sus stained by your great nation; or, on the other hand. I have no hesitation in assuring you that they will excite admiration, esteem, and the most reciprocal feelings of friendship among the American people. I hail this Interchange of sentiment as an augury that, whatever else may happen, whatever misfortune may befall your country, as my own. the peace and friendship which now exists between the two nations will be. as it shall be my desire to make them, perfected." Here and there In this country it has been said that the United States kept silence officially when Belgium was invaded, but became agitated and vocal when American commerce was touched; that she was chiefly concerned in making money out of this war. It is not really necessary to reply to such foolish statements; but if it-were, the critic could be minded that - again and again, when other countries have been at . war. Great Britain has been charged with commercial selfishnesa and anxiety to- secure advantage and make money out of other people's troubles; - and it Is perfectly true that in the early part and the middle of last century Great Britain did profit by the wars which upset the trade and commerce and industry - of other countries. The almighty heart is still stronger In the United States than the almighty dollar. The American people may rest assured that In this country the Immense majority are. deeply and profoundly grateful to them for their chivalrous' and genuine sympathy; not only because it is sympathy, but because the American people have made up their minds that we are right and that our enemies are wrong in this war; that our alms were peaceful aims, and the .purposes of our enemy were purposes of warfare for territorial and material gala' We should have had many searcbings of conscience if the Judgment of the American people had gone against us at this .time.-- - Removed from European . complications, the United States is a great court of equity,' and Its Judgments are Invaluable to the nation that wins Its approval and -secures from It the verdict of acquittal of -crime against the peace of the world.

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Merchants

Honest

The Necessity of Strict : Enforcement of Goun--tr.y-Wido Staiiuss Compelling Hone? its and Measures By Charles G. Johnson State Superintendent - for Weights a" ' " : ureefoe Csllfernia.- - "H OW much dos ft weigh T and "Bow much gees It measurer Thee two question are ' to-day av eooM mon as. "How much does It cost? . . It Is a proud boast that "Honesty Is th test policy." it is a doctrine advocated and preached from the cradle to the grata. Te make this doctrine " a ' practical fast there should be written Into the statutes- ot- every Bute fa the Union honest wetght ana maa we laws. These laws are nsossssjy as the basic principle of our eoasmereJi They establish a uniform system ot ana measures and sJIoM . protection to the met chants who consclentlousty Maintain these standards. Ishment for those who vtosats them. Trade customs established by the ' years sgo hay crown to moammeatal arose Hons so that until ' lately even ' the stnallesf merchant did not deem It wrong to sell a twopound square ot . batter the, weighed oata twenty-nine ounces. : In 1864 Congress adopted a sAsneard weighs and. a standard measure for the n-'- -s cre torn, and tor its mintage. These stands, la hsve tnce been adopted as the common cosm merctal standards for use ia all the States. Comnerce Is universally conditioned upogj the basic principle that pounds, feet, etc ia sale id trade are equivalent to dollars and cents. On the accuracy of the former 4e pends the honesty of the transaction, nasi their accuracy zhouU be of equal importance to the value of the latter. The scale or the balance is a mschenlca vice which registers what. In the opinio the weigher, is the correct weight. It forms its function as directed, and with la. ot r ca ararx transfers us responsibility to the a se of right and wrong ot its user. Human geniuses hsve contrived mechsV. ll apparatus of a thousand varieties calcu' d to weigh and measure. From the time o nee of the steel yard by the Egyptians u e automatic weighing devices of to-day . curacy has been the baalo principle of c e .structlon. "lf.iCtUL5 t thin. Is not er tg auuB. it is a scaie just as long as it ma.a tains accuracy. When it does not wMgh accurately It becomes a thing of great evil and " sbould be destroyed. The elimination ot commercial fraud and crime as the result of dis vYl?hU d "res cannot be corIT HUT he rigld adODtIon certain type or weighing and measuring apparatus. Almost ' any scale can be adjusted to maintain ao curacy. The problem lies in forcibly establishing its honest use. Manufacturers of weighing and meisurlnj v '!? Plratu5 ?rman' Tears had the reputation of manufacturing scales that could be re? ?rLt0.lTSlS,l falBelJ establish ea ' a ready alibi for merchants, and the evil grew' to auch proportions that It threatened to destroy entirely the common standard. It was then that the Federal .Government awoke to 1.? 'ml?orncl of protecting Its system and established the Federal . Department of Weights and Measures. This resulted I ia a revolution In the construction of scsleV and . tp-day specification must be approved by the Federal Bureau before they are permitted for distribution, thus effectively establishing the principle of accuracy by careful construction and greatly eliminating the possibility ot fraud. - The establishment of a uniform system of weights and .measures, and the enactmr of laws to protect it. is approved by an merchants who want protection against diabenest competition. They 4tst be protected or do one ot two thlugs retire from business or adopt the -tactics ot the short-welghter. Honest competition based on dollars and cents is a stimulant to trade. Dishonest competition, based on fraudulent weights and measures, is falsi . -to trade. Weight and measure frauds are not. as many think, petty larceny crises. Fraud In the short weight of coal to the amount ot nearly $3,000,000 was established a year ago. In nine months of inspection work by four men in one city thirty-eight wagon, loads of fraudulent scales, weights and measures were confiscated and destroyed. In anotLer. 14S.00 ' fraudulent ' milk bottles were confiscated and destroyed, and, - significantly enough, no complaint was registered by the dairymen whose property was destroyed. The business of housekeeping, if such It may be classified, is probably the largest businesi in the world. General Indifference and lack ' of application on the part of tn. bouse. , i a first cause tor fraudulent weights and mea. . t ures." It is admitted that the people whe can least afford it are the greatest victims of short weight. and measure frauds, an 3 they too. arc the peopio who show the : --t ftlon to protect themselves. . The social value ot the work of a department -of weights and measures Is greater than any other modern reform movement. It preaches the gospel of truth and honesty, and makes it' practical by making It dangerous to lie abont ' ouality and steal in quantity. "Man's InhumanItv toward man" manifests itself effectively la ? short weights and measures. Fraud of this r character has a double force of evil; your -,, enemies don"t trade with you.- but those who are - friendly Not alone Is theft committed. . but ' there ii"a violation of that force by which mea - ' . retain self-respect as men. -. - . - Honesty in. weights, and .measures t9 a re form that can only be accomplished through -the rigid enforcement of strtc laws. The ,ur i J-W public don't set the price. They pay v uud'they are entitled to a full delivery of h amount prom'ied and cold to them, and it ..V the sacred duty of the wf - ts and -measures officials to demand the fulfillment ft this contract, the violation of whlc i esub-. ; lishes prtma-facie evidence of both perjury and : , larceny. i - " .- '.; . " .:..:

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