The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1916 AMERICA AND GERMANY.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 39, 16 February 1916, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1916 AMERICA AND GERMANY.

("With which, is incorporated The Tai bape Post and Waimarino News.)

It is feared that the United States has become involved in a difficulty, if not a danger, respecting the status of merchant ships that carry guns. It appears that Mr. Lansing was nagged by Germany into submitting a memorandum to the Entente asking that all merchantmer. should be disarmed, and it is this in which the indiscretion lies, for it can hardly be assumed that the United States intended to take any definite stand in the direction indicated in the memoradum. Not so with Germany, however; her diplomatists had evolved this situation and, by persistent subtlety, has induced the United States to make an indiscreet move in the diplomatic game, allowing it to be thought that through it lay the settlement of the outstanding Lusitania trouble. The United States was therefore first in asking that merchantmen should be disarmed, and now came Germany's opportunity, and she goes farther and says, we will sink every ship that carries a gun, whatever nationalities may be aboard. Germany supposes that America can raise no objection as she was first in the field to demand that merchantmen should be disarmed. From this it is assumed by Germany that 1 the United States has lost all control of her citizens that may be travelling in belligerent ships sunk by German submarines, and that therefore no parallels with the Lusitania case are possible in the future, thus giving Germany the freedom of the seas to run riot in her piratical acts. It is past conception, however, that any diplomatic trick can ever be allowed to blot out the established sacred law giving a nation the right to prote/ct its citizens, and to demand reparation for any that may be wilfully or negligently murdered or seriously injured. If German diplomatists are so stupid as to believe that the United States will not avenge the deaths of her people caused by German submarines, then there will be an awakening that may add one more to the Entente list. What was in the German mind is very evident from comments by her leading newspapers who unanimously applaud their memoradum as an extremely important step. They think this new policy, as they are too eager to term it, removes most submarine snares; that it will strike directly at England, wearing away her vital nerve. But eagerness in this has closed their eyes for the time being to the purpose for which the British navy came into exis. tenee. German eyes have been so blinded over the diplomatic trick as to prevent their seeing its impracticability. In saner moments Germany cannot think that American trade with Britain is going to abruptly end, which would be the case were Germany's interpretation of the position accepted; any such view may be dismissed without a second thought. The carrying of a gun or two by merchant ships has always been an admitted right, and it is too far a stretch to now assume that a bit of German cun. ning is going to alter such an established usage. It i s obvious that if British ships were not allowed to remain in American ports for more than twenty-four, hour,? Anglo-American trade must cease. The question that has to be settled is what constitutes an armed merchantman? Whether it is one armed for defence against any form of piracy, or whether it is a vessel armed so as to become an auxiliary warship. Germany says one gun makes 'an armed ship, but the rest jbf the civilised world outside the Central powers will decide otherwise. The United States has asked for two courses to be followed, one is that there shall be no armed merchantmen, and that Germany shall cease the destruction of merchant vessels. The German Reichstag has declared that the submarine weapon will not be given up, at the same time it urges that merchantmen shall be disarmed, or they shall be treated as warships and liable to be sunk without further consideration or responsibility. Any German undertaking not to sink any unarmed vessel will not bear consideration because Germany ha s never troubled to ascertain whether ships are armed or not. She has boldly lied when called to account; she swore the Lusitahia was armed, and will continue to similarly swear about ship s sunk in the future. German agreements will only be kept so long as they operate in German interests,

of this there is no shadow of doubt. The whole trouble has arisen through an American indiscretion committed while angling for a settlement of the Lusitania case, and Germany can be trusted to make the most of it.