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Show THE TASK WE FACE. Some confusion has beeu caused by ibe American note to Germany. The note declared that Germany would be held strictly to account for any American Amer-ican lives lost in attacks by German submarines. It has been suggested that perhaps this applies to the killing of an American citizen on board the merchant mer-chant ship of a belligerent. There really is no '"perhaps" about it. The note applies to just such a case. The Germans have no right to destroy a merchant ship of the enemy without making" certain of the safety of all persons per-sons ou board. - The rule of intei u;i-tional u;i-tional law is that il before a vc.-sel is destroyed all persons on board must be placed in safety.'' The president's protest, pro-test, therefore, applies to American citizens cit-izens on British and French merchant ships as xtell as to American citizens on American ship?. The German government is assuming that a submarine is unable to take the necessary precautions to insure the safety safe-ty of those on board merchant ships, and that therefore the submarine s iis-pensed iis-pensed from the rule of international laTV. The belligerents have crrovu ?o accustomed to dispense themselves from' the rules of international low and the laws of war that the attitude of 'he German government on this point is not a surprise. The surprise is that the American government has finally refused to acquiesce in the continued violation of the Iutt of nations. The belligerents belliger-ents realize that the task which wo have jmposed upon ourselves is gigantic anrl brings us to the very verge of war. H was quite natural fur them to believe that we would submit to almo.-t any i ooonvenienee or injustice rather than enter into the European conflict. They saw, as we shall soon see, tbM by undertaking un-dertaking to - defend our inlcrv-t h against every violation of international 1 iaw on the part of the belligerent powers pow-ers we will be constant.';.' ;i' '-onis' points with one or another fin- belligerents bel-ligerents and sometimes v. jh . ;!l of them. The war has become bi w i -' t h;i t if we set out to uphold intrnaHonni Jaw whenever our own interests arc involved in-volved we. shall bo- in hot wyt'.-r all the time until the war emK There art; several alternative?. Wo ran warn our vhips to remain out of the mival war zones altog'-th or, or we ra u a-1 -j t rn-nomic rn-nomic measure of retaliation. lor e:;-arnple, e:;-arnple, we could plaee, an em jar go on all foodstuffs and munitions of war. We could refuse to sell munitions urnl food even when the belligerent powers sent their own :-hip, to take on the r.jpplies. Jf the United St Men and all Jhe neutral countri'-", in the wr:,t-rn hemisphere should adopt si'-n a poli'-y the belligerent.!, v.hefli'-r of the triple 'ntei:te. or of the Teufoiiie alliance, would find themselves in a de .-.pera.tc situation. The allies would be handi-rapped handi-rapped heavily for ammunition and the Germans for food. -heMv-r Mi'di a policy v. ill Lf-'onio nerf ;--a.ry only iiitie ran ree;j!. W hen Napoleon ij-Mied Milan decree de claring a "paper ldockadf:;' of Kngland and Kngland rrpli--l ,v orders in .) 'il proclaiming Fran-o Idockaderl 0ur country adopted an embargo v.dii-'h j',,- j hade, Arnrrir-an liip.-j to f-ail to foreign I ports. So di-astronfl w;m the elf. et upon busine-- in tiri-t rutin, ry 'hai run-grfi run-grfi lifted tho end.aro .M;m-h I, 1 '!', after it ,;i hi-en in efiVt abo"t a y : r I and three muni !i-. j |