The sinking of no fewer than eleven vessels, Allied as well as neutral, through the illegal laying of mines by Germany has un-Moubiedly created a sensation throughout the world, for a completer demonstration of tite, "ruthlessness, and disregard for the safely of neutrals has never been given. As it has already been pointed out, Berlin has up to the present made no denial that this dastardly work was German, though the "Hamburger Fremdenblatt" weeps a few crocodile tears, describing the sinking of the Simon Bolivar as one of the saddest events Tin the course of the present naval war, and going on to say that the feeling of sympathy with the innocent victims of the disaster should at the present moment predominate over all other feelings. It was therefore, painful, the newspaper proceeded to say. to observe that Brilish. propaganda _secks to exploit the loss of that vessel for its own purposes. It is entirely beside the mark that the journal in question goes on to suggest that one or two British mines caused the explosions which sunk the ship, blaming the British naval authorities with' ultimate responsibility for the disaster by reason of negligent conduct in laying the mines and Jeaving channels for the passage of shipping 50 narrow that there was absolutely no guarantee for the safety of the vessels using them. That is the first attempt to pin responsibility for the tragedy upon the British, belated, disingenuous and completely lacking in all the qualities of conviction. It will be necessary for the Reich to think up something better than the story that the British naval command is so lacking in common sense as to imperil Allied and neutral mercantile marine upon the activities of which Great Britain depends so much for her supplies. The suggestion that Great Britain by indiscriminate mining is in fact secking to commit suicide is just the type of thing to bbe expected from such people as the present rulers of Germany who consider that any lie repeated often enough is bound in the end to stick. That they are mistaken in the belief has been proved time and time again, but it never seems to be brought home to them that it is impossible to fool all people all the time.
While it may readily be understood that this latest departure from the doctrines of international law may be accepted as proof lof the growing desperation of Herr Hitler's position, and of the pressing need for him to force a decision as quickly as possible, there is also the primitive feelings of the Teutons to be taken into consideration, for if in this present war there is nothing essentially different from those of a thousand years ago, that can readily be accounted for by a reference to Mallet's "Northern Antiquities":—
"The rules of justice, far from checking their prejudices, had been themselves warped and adapted to their bias, It is no exageration to say that all the Teuton nations entertained opinions on this subject quite posite to the theory of our times. They looked Upon war as a real aet of justice, and esteemed Wt'an' incontestable. title over' the weal, visible mark that God had intended to subject them to the strong, They had no doubt but the intentions of this divinity had been establish the same dependence among men which there Is among animals, and setting out from the principle of the inequality of men, as our modern civilians do, from that of their equality, they inferred that the weak had no right to what they could not defend. This maxim which formed the bas's of the law -of nations among the ancient inhabitants of Europe being dictated by their most, darling. passion, we cannot wonder that they should steadfastly act up to it in practice. They adopted the above maxim' in. all its rigour 1d gave the name of Divine Judgment not lary combat but to conflicts forts; victory being in their opinion the only certain mark by which Providence enables us to distinguish those which it has appointed to-command others"
Mallet gives a very fine insight to the type of mind such as Herr Hitler's which glories in the lie, is proud of his perjuries and worships the abandonment of all those canons duce the evils of wor, ternational struggles with that degree of humanity which the world has come to expect as an interpretation of its ci Most of the neutrals whose shipping is being destroyed, those others whose neutrality is being threatened are weak as compared with Germany, and, because they are weak, Herr Hitler is justified in doing to them whatever it may suit his purpose to do. All this is not a case of atavism but of the persistence of ideas which the greater part of the civilized world has discarded long ago. Sum~ med up the contention is that as the neutrals fare in no position to defend themselves it really does not matter what Germany does to them,—might is right and the devil take the hindmost.
Tt is when all this is realized that the full meaning of the contention that both Great Britain and France are fighting in defence of lization is appreciated. A victory for Germany would vindicate the doctrines which Mallet has set forth so succinctly, would lead to their being ap,"ed by force in Europe not over much of the rest of the world, with probably only the United States outside the system, and would amount to 2 negation of all those principles upon which the present
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.