States Secretary of State for War. Hitler "has torn up the rules of international law." He has thereby gained an advantage over the Democracies, who are fighting, among other things, for the preservation of that law and the restoration of its influence as a factor towards permanent peace. Nevertheless Hitler, by the mere act of tearing up the rules of international law, has placed in the hands of the Democracies a powerful weapon sanctioned by that law, which may shortly be put into use by the United States. This is the right to convoy ships carrying supplies to Britain by means of the American navy, and to resist any attempt to sink these ships. Hitherto German submarines have sunk vessels suspected of carry: ing so-called contraband without warning. And they have threatened openly to do the same thing with any American ships which might come under the sights of their torpedoes. The attitude has been set forth in unmistakeable terms by Hitler himself, but it immediately places them beyond the pale. Professor Warren A. Seavey of Harvard University, after ce sultation with his colleague: cently summarized the United States" lit to convoy as follows:
A neutral nation has the*right to use its sh carry materials to any belligerent When a port or coast is blockade: neutral ships may be pr from passing through.
To be effective, a blockade must prevent "perhaps three-fourths" of the neutral ships from reaching the port or coast Since Germany has not been able te do this, its blockade of England is not legal.
If, however, American ships should carry contraband—which includes munitions and raw materials of all sorts—these could legally be stopped by Germany and searched Germany would have the legal right to put aboard a prize crew, take the ships to port Where a prize court could condemn the ships or the contraband cargoes, In no circumstances, however, would Germany have legal grounds to sink unarmed neutral ships.
The United States has the right to convoy its ships to prevent their being sunk.
The United States, though, does not have the right to prevent contraband ships from being searched and seized; but merely to prevent their being sunk.
Professor Seavey's views were recently recorded in some detail by the "Christian Science Monitor." The professor realized when he spoke that the question of war between the United States and Germany will not be decided upon technicalities of international law. He emphasized, however, that the German blockade of Britain has never been legal, and that in no case have the Germans ever had the right to sink unarmed neutral ships. If the United States decides to send supplies to Britain in American bottoms, they have the right, therefore, to prevent their being sunk without warning or without the proper procedure of a blockading force being carried out. In exercising this right, it is possible that the United States may become involved in naval hostilities with the Germans. In the eyes of the man in the street, this will, of course, mean war, but in the eyes of the international lawyer it may mean nothing more than the preventing of an act of international piracy.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.