OCR Text |
Show SWEDEN'S DISGRACE. Tho Swedish government's explanation explana-tion of the Argentina affair, as reported report-ed from London, is what was anticipated anticipat-ed at Washington. Stockholm makes the specious and dishonest plea that the foreign office has been accustomed to transmit messages between Berlin and neutral capitals, that the message from the German minister , at Buenos Aires was transmitted in the German code and that the Swedish foreign office did not know what the message contained. Such a plea is no palliation of guilt. Stockholm had no right to transmit a message without knowing the contents. Being a neutral Sweden could make sure of its neutrality only by guarding guard-ing against the transmission of any messages which might assist a belligerent bellig-erent in tho prosecution of tho war. The Swedish government Bhould liave known what was in Count Luxburg's messago. The Swedish foreign office was lending lend-ing itself to a murder plot. It would have been an accomplice before the fact had tho German submarine commanders, com-manders, in accordance with the advice of Luxburg, sunk Argentine ships "without leaving a trace." The only way to remove all trace of such sinkings was to murder every person on board. Had Argentina been at war with Germany Ger-many that might have been considered an extenuating circumstance for Germany, Ger-many, but not for Sweden. The abominable guilt of the plan was that it proposed the murder of citizens of a nation at peace with Germany. The Argentine officers and men, and perhaps per-haps some women and children, were to be lured into the war zone, believing that their lives would be spared even if their ships were sunk, and then they were to be murdered. The Swedish foreign for-eign office and the Swedish envoys were helping as much as they could to make these murders possible. The Stockholm government does not make any better showing than the slayer slay-er who is caught red handed and utters ut-ters a few wild and incoherent excuses. But, short of war, this is all Sweden can do. |