um and defense. This fundamental right of Belgium should not be
confused or obscured by balancing the subordinate equities between
France, Germany, and England with respect to their formal treaty
obligations.

Belgium's case has thus been weakened in the forum of public opinion
by too insistent reference to the special treaties. The right of
Belgium and of its citizens as individuals, to be secure in their
possessions rests upon the sure foundation of inalienable right and
is guarded by the immutable principle of moral law, "Thou shalt not
steal." It was well said by Alexander Hamilton:

The sacred rights of man are not to be searched for in old
parchments and musty records; they are written as with a
sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature by the hand of
Divinity itself and can never be erased by mortal power.

This truth can be illustrated by an imaginary instance. Let us suppose
that the armies of the Kaiser had made the progress which they so
confidently anticipated, and had not simply captured Paris, but had
also invaded England, and that, in an attempt to crush the British
Empire, the German General Staff planned an invasion of Canada. Let us
further suppose that Germany thereupon served upon the United States
such an arrogant demand as it made upon Belgium, requiring the United
States to permit it to land an army in New York, with the accompanying
assurance that neither its territory nor independence would be
injured, and that Germany would generously reimburse it for any
damage.

Let us further suppose--and it is not a very fanciful
supposition--that the United States would reply to the German demand
that under no circumstances should a German force be landed in New
York or its territory be used as a base of hostile operations against
Canada. To carry out the analogy in all its details, let us then
suppose that the German fleet should land an army in the city of New
York, arrest its Mayor, and check the first attempt of its outraged
inhabitants to defend the city by demolishing the Cathedral, the
Metropolitan Art Gallery, the City Hall and other structures, and
shooting down remorselessly large numbers of citizens, because a few
non-combatants had not accepted the invasion with due humility.

Although Germany had not entered into any treaty to respect the
territory of the United States, no one would seriously contend that
Germany would be justified in such an invasion.

The allege