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Show A SILLY PLEA. Out of Vienna comes the naive suggestion sug-gestion that even if the Austrian sub marine sank the Aneona without warning, warn-ing, the act would be on quite a different differ-ent plane from the sinking of a 'iner by a German submarine, because the United States has warned Germany and has not warned Austria. On land the only warning warn-ing given against tho commission of crime is the law. "o special notices are sent out to citizens not to commit murder. mur-der. The law against sinking a merchantman merchant-man with or without warning, unless such merchantman, have contraband aboard, is included among the canons of international law and the rules of naval warfare. It is as binding on the Austrians as upon the Germans. The Argentine republic and Brazil have given Germany no notice that her sub inaiine commanders must not sink passenger pas-senger vessels without warning, but it would be preposterous to maintain that these nations would have no right to complain if their citizens were sent to death as a result of an attack on a pas senger ship by a German submarine. The law against murder on the high seas is just as definite as the law against murder on laud. The only difference is that the police and courts bring mm-derers mm-derers on land to justice, while there are no policemen of the seas except warships war-ships and when they seek to enforce the law war has begun. |