The sinking of no fewer than eleven vessels, Allied as well as neutral, through the illegal laying of mines by Germany has undoubtedly created a sensation throughout the world, for a completer demonstration of utter ruthlessness, and disregard for the safety 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 in 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 British propaganda seeks 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 leaving channels for the passage of shipping so 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 seeking to commit suicide is just the type of thing to be 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 of 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 exaggeration to say that all the Teuton nations entertained opinions on this subject quite opposite to the theory of our times, They looked upon war as a real act of justice, and esteemed it an incontestable title over the weak, a visible mark that God had intended to subject them to the strong, They had no doubt but the intentions of this divinity had been to 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 basis of the law. of nations among the ancient inhabitants of Europe being dictated by their most darling passion, we cannot wonder that they should so steadfastly act up to it in practice...... They adopted the above maxim in all its rigour and gave the name of Divine Judgment not only to the judiciary combat but to conflicts and battles of all sorts; 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 with which men have sought to reduce the evils of war, and to conduct international struggles with that degree of humanity which the world has come to expect as an interpretation of its civilization. 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 is may suit his purpose to do. All this is mot a case of atavism but of the persistence of ideas which the greater part of the civilized world has discarded long ago. Summed up the contention is that as the neutrals are in no position to defend themselves it really does not matter what Germany does io them,—might is right and the devil take the hindmost.
It is when al] this is realized that the full meaning of the contention that both Great Britain and France are fighting in defence of civilization is appreciated. A victory for Germany would vindicate the doctrines which Mallet has set forth so succinctly, would lead to their being apr%ed by force in Europe if not over much of the rest of the world, with probably only the United States outside the system, and would amount to a negation of all those principles upon which the present day civilization has been found. In view of all this the repeated infractions by the Reich of international law falls into its proper perspective. There is no law binding upon it save that of expediency, and if Herr Hitler, and his accomplices decide that it is expedient to break any and every law and undertaking which would normally be binding upon nations, they seek in victory a justification of their behaviour. It is not, therefore, to be expected that if the neutrals, whose shipping is being sunk with such complete disregard of their rights, did complain they would obtain any satisfaction, for the attitude of Herr Hitler is clear that he will win in any way he can, and, if he is defeated he will go down in a furore of destruction. Such incidents as that over the week-end must consequently be expected: they cannot be taken for granted, for they are repugnant to the minds of any who respect the ideals of the rule of law. They may be expected to intensify as the German situation becomes more serious than it is at present, and it may safely be said that the greater the display of ruthless brutality, the greater the disregard of the rights of neutrals, the more desperate will be the case of the Third Reich. On the other hand there is no reason for regarding the situation with any great degree of despondency; the several campaigns of unrestricted submarine warfare were an important feature of the last war. Nothing up to the present has happened at sea which was not witnessed in the last great struggle. Then German ruthlessness was an indication of the desperateness of the situation; it is so today, for even Herr Hitler would like to win with clean hands,—if he could.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.