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Show PRESIDENT HAS A DARKFDTURE Many Difficult Problem Must Be Solved War Troubles to Settle. Washington, Nov. 19. A portentous porten-tous and ' complicated International situation now faces President Wilson and for tho next few weeks will engage en-gage his attention and that of his advisors ad-visors to the exclusion of all but the most urgent of domestic subjects. From now on the president expects ex-pects to deal with all foreign questions ques-tions without embarrassment. While It is not evident that there will be any fundamental change in policy, lreedom from fear that any move at all would be misinterpreted as Inspired Inspir-ed by an internal political struggle has been removed. The president must decide how tKcTUnited States shall meet the German Ger-man submarine question on the one hand and tho entente allied trade restrictions re-strictions on the other; whether the retaliatory legislation shall be enforced; en-forced; whether the traditional theory of Isolation shall be abandoned for concerted neutral action; whether the country shall have an aggressive or a passive policy toward tho peace conference; con-ference; the war after tho war; the permanent league to enforce peace, and during the rest of the war, shall America's attitude bo governed by benevolent Interpretation of international interna-tional law according to its own best Interests, or shall it be strictly legalistic, legal-istic, regardless of whom it affects. Five Critical Cases. The most disquieting problem Is the German submarine situation. Five critical cases are pending,- one involving in-volving a loss of six American lives, two others involving American ships. Increasingly serious Is the fast-growing conviction that any kind of a general gen-eral submarine warfare is intolerable. Germany is known to be building submarines sub-marines rapidly and there is the pos- against England. The United States might find it difficult to avoid con plications. The American attitude is flat and final. Technicalities will be admitted. admit-ted. Ships must not be sunk without warning or without provision for the safety of the passengers on tho high seas or off shore. The armed ship issue will not be accepted. Must Come From Berlin. The future of the submarine situation situa-tion is felt to rest entirely with Germany. Ger-many. The next step must come from Berlin. Two possibilities are feared: Either that Germany will decide she can starve England by an undersea campaign or that she may endeavor to involve this country, and thus insure the participation in peace conferences of a generous enemy. Beyond this, the Lusitania case remains unsettled. Germany has admitted liability and offered indemnity. But the delicate matter of its amount has not been settled. Attempts made to close the issue have been repeatedly blocked by unexpected new U-boat complications. complica-tions. Tho ravages of the U-53 off New England were displeasing to the government. gov-ernment. It was said that continuance continu-ance of tho practice wouldn ot be permitted, per-mitted, as it would constitute a practical prac-tical blockade of American harbors. Relations with the entente allies arc less clear-cut. Sea power has enabled en-abled them through th,e blockade and Imposition of the blacklist, virtually to destroy all foreign trade hostile to them and divert all American commerce com-merce to their own uses. Constant belligerent encroachments on neutral rights have led President Wilson to say that neutrality is "intolerable," war has become so world-wide, so unlimited un-limited as to national boundaries, that it is no longer the hostile army, but the hostile state, men, women and children, with its outpostB all over the world, that Is involved. First, the oldest of the entente allied al-lied restrictions is the blockade, which our government has declared illegal because it is both ineffective and discriminatory dis-criminatory in favor of Norway and Sweden in that it does not blockade the Baltic and because it attempts to Germany, in which British goods are allowed to go. The case dates back to March 11, 1915, and the last note was tho British refusal of April 24, last. Bitterly Condemned. The rationing of Holland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark has been bitterly bitter-ly condemned in the blockade notes, where it has beeu held to be an absolutely ab-solutely unwarrantable interference with neutral trade directly between the neutral countries. England invokes the doctrine of continuous con-tinuous voyage and allows only enough supplies to enter these neutral countries to meet their minimum needs, despite the fact that goods imported im-ported to a neutral country becomes part of its capital stock, subject to reexportation re-exportation if desired. The mall seizure matter is no less vexing. Here again is an absolute conflict con-flict between neutral and belligerent rights. Neutrals havo the right of inviolability in-violability of genuine correspondence belligerents have the right to search malls for contraband. Obviously, malls cannot bo searched and inviolate invio-late at the samo time. A reply is due from thiB government to the British and French note of October 15, which itself was over four months delayed. The British refusal of tho American attitude as to the blacklist will require re-quire answer. The British claim it Is merely municipal legislation to prevent pre-vent their own subjects from dealing with firms aiding the enemy. The United States holds that in effect this is extending British control over Into American affairs. The prohibition of importation of raw materials from the British dominations dom-inations Into this country except under un-der guarantee that they will not reach German firms is another galling restriction, since in its administration tho British embassy here decides finally final-ly what firms shall nnd what firms shall not be favored. This gives a control over American industries and a knowledge of American trade secrets se-crets that is resented. Intensive study Is being given it though no announcement of Its application appli-cation has been made. It may be applied ap-plied to all cases or to only certain specific cases and may bo Invoked whenever the president desires. It can reach all the points of issues above. Peace Conference. The president may express America's Ameri-ca's attitude toward the peace conference. confer-ence. Undoubtedly American interests inter-ests will be involved, notably in China and the Pacific Islands taken from Germany, and also in tho effort to secure se-cure a basis for a lasting peace and in the necessary re-writing of international internation-al law. The trade war-after-tbe-war offers most tangled problems. Great doubt is felt that it can go through because It is admittedly uneconomic in that the entente allied nations are competitive competi-tive rather than co-ordinate. Its approval ap-proval by the Paris conference and its increasing agitation abroad, however, make preparation against it necessary. The Webb bill, now before congress, to permit co-operation among exporters, export-ers, will be one of the first steps urged. Most vital of all questions perhaps is President Wilson's advocacy of a league of nations to guarantee against another war. Admittedly this destroys American Isolation and commits the nnUnn tn netlvo Intnroqt In nnd pn- operation with other countries. It remains re-mains for this country to work the plans out in practice. Mexico Is in a very serious plight. Officials are beginning to despair of Carranza, yet no alternative is seen. The Nicaraguan treaty is being bitterly bitter-ly protested by the other Central American nations and offers a possible source of trouble. Conditions there and in San Domingo and Haiti are unsettled. un-settled. Also the treaty for the purchase pur-chase of the Danish West Indies for $25,000,000 is still unratified by Denmark. |
