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ATROCITY REPRISALS It lias been suggested by a London paper that this country will not calmly submit to the atrocities which Germans have indicted and will inflict upon American soldiers and that acts of retribution will follow acts of barbarity The question is what exactly is meant by this If it is inferred that we shall deliberately lame and maim and starve to deatii Germans who are imprisoned or interned in this country then the writer is completely mis ¬ conceiving the spirit and temper of the American people peopleTwo Two wrongs do not make a right and never will There will certainly be acts of retribution if Ger ¬ mans persist in the barbarities to our men which they have inflicted on the French British and notably Canadians and instances of brutal treat ¬ ment of Americans in the field or internment camp will be carefully noted and recorded with a view to prompt action But if we find that some of our men have been blinded mutilated or crucified we shall not indulge in Windings niaimings and crucifixions in return Doubtless such acts when re ¬ corded will cause among tiie men themselves a strong feeling of indignation and they will give little quarter or in their own expressive words will treat em rough when they find their ene ¬ mies at the point of the bayonet or within bomb ¬ ing range There will probably be less inclination to take prisoners but once the men are prisoners they will be treated with humanity though there will be no disposition to coddle them It might be necessary to subject German officers to party of treatment with their men which is about the severest punishment which can t e put upon the officer caste of Germany but reprisals will under no circumstances be carried to a length that would open the way to counter action which might seri ¬ ously affect the comfort and even the lives of American officers imprisoned in Germany GermanyIt It should be made clear to Germany however that for any brutalities inflicted upon Americans taken prisoner the retribution will be severe that not only will examples be made of men caught doing these tilings but the authorities also will be made to suffer at the termination of the war Incidentally for every American prisoner now in the hands of Germany we have scores of subjects of the kaiser many of them men of rank and social position Without indulging iu inhumanity it will be possible to punish Germany through these men now and in the future should occasion call for it 3Ir Lansing made this tolerably clear in his reply to the insolent demand for the release of Rintelen RintelenBut But the chief punishment for organized fright fuliHss will be meted out to German leaders when the day of reckoning comes as it surely will Then the baby killers the crucifiers the ravishers and the sneak thieves such as the Crown Prince Eitel and others of their kind will find that heavy pen allies await them while the punishment of the German people in the form of ostracism will extend over generations New York Herald
