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Show K) OUR FOREIGN POLICY. TI7fi can see nothiiig but shoals ahead of the U. S. VV under the foreign policy that has been adopted by the present administration. Wc haven't the good sense, seemingly, to try to keep out of trouble, nor the courage and disposition to mix in. We have protested protest-ed and threatened against certain European nations, with no intention of carrying out our threats, until we have lost what regard they once had for our mandates, and now utterly disregard our injunctions. We re fuse to warn Americans to keep off armed ships of the contending nations, and the slaughter of Americans Ameri-cans on these vessels goes merrily on. At each new infraction of international law and the rights of American citizens, wc write a note to the offender, demanding an explanation and reiterating our intention of holding them accountable for the lives of American citizens, taken contrary to the stipulations of our agreements and of international law. After a few months spent in considering the fine points of international law, by the exchange of diplomatic notes and a threat tb Sever diplomatic relations, Germany, or whatever country happens to be the offender, promises prom-ises to be good in the future, and forthwith dispatches its undersea craft to torpedo any of the enemy's ships that they can find, without giving them a chance to save the lives of non-combatants. Such horseplay has become ridiculous in the extreme. ex-treme. As already stated a number of times, we believe be-lieve that we have no business in the European trouble. troub-le. We believe that wc have enough to attend to in minding our own business and keeping affairs on this hemisphere in shipshape, without troubling ourselves about the European conflict. The best place for all Americans is on this side of the pond, and if it is really necessary for Americans to go to Europe, they should sail on American ships, and any nation interfering inter-fering with them should be held to the strictest accountability. ac-countability. If any of the hcliggerent nations want any of our goods or products, let them come to our shores for them, but let Us not assume the responsibility for transporting trans-porting them. Neither let us sell ammunition to one party to the conflict with which to slaughter the other, oth-er, pile a few' American citizens on top of the explosives explos-ives and start them into the war zone with the expectation expec-tation that the presence of our citizens is going to save the cargo of ammunition from destruction and the ship and passengers with it if it comes in sight of the periscope per-iscope of a hostile submarine. To us, even the act of manufacturing and selling a million dollars' worth of ammunition a day to one side of the terrible conflict does not appear as a strictly neutral position, without insisting upon our right to load American citizens on top of it and dispatch them to Europe, and expect their lives to be respected and safeguarded. |