Austria wants an outlet in the East, Constantinople or Salonica.
Russia wants ice-free ports on the Baltic and Pacific, Constantinople, and a free outlet from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean.
Germany claims to be hemmed in by a ring of steel, and needs the facilities of Antwerp and Rotterdam for her Rhine Valley commerce, security against being shut out from the East by commercial restrictions on the overland route, and freedom of the seas for her foreign commerce.
England must receive uninterrupted supplies of food and raw materials, and her oversea communications must be maintained.
This is true also of France, Germany, Belgium, and other European countries.
Japan, like Germany, must have opportunity for her expanding population, industries, and commerce.
The foreign policies of the nations still at peace are also determined by trade relations. Our own country desires the open door in the East.
South and North American States and Scandinavia are already protesting against the war’s interference with their ocean trade.
All nations that are not in possession of satisfactory harbors on the sea demand outlets, and cannot and ought not to be contented till they get them.