Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1915-02-12
GERMANYHASAWORD
CONCERNING RETALIATION OF
ARMED MEASURES TAKEN
BY BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
INTERNATIONAL LAWINvOLVED
Claims EngIand's Mercantile Warfare
Doinss are All Wrong-Names
Articles Contraband Which Are
Not-Text of Proclamation.

Berlin, Feb. S.-Germany officially
gave out Saturday the full text of the
memorandum of the imperial Ger
man government concerning retalia-
tion against the measures taken by
England in violation of international
law to stop neutral sea commerce with
Germany" 1t says:
"Since the beginning Of the present
war Great Britain has carried on a
mercantile warfare against Germany
in way that defies all the principles
of international law. 1t is true that
the British government has announced
in number of DEGREES that the Lon
don declaration concerning naval war
fare is to be binding On it's naval
forces, but in reality she has re-
nounced the declaration in it's most
| important particulars, although her
own delegates at the London confer
ence on naval warfare had recognized
its conclusions to be valid as interna.
tional law.
| AlIege Contraband Abuses.
1.-The British government has put a
number of articles in the list of con.
traband which are not, or, at most
are only indirectly useful for military
purposes, and therefore, according to
the London declaration, as well as &C
cording to the universally recognized
rules of international law, may not be
designated as contraband. She has
further, actually abolished the distinc
ton between absolute and relative
contraband, inasmuch as she has sub
jected to capture all articles of rela
tive contraband intended for Germany
without reference to- the harbor il
which they are to be unloaded or tt
they are to be put
"She does not even hesitate to vic
late the Paris declaration, as her nava
forces have seized, on neutral ships
German property that was not contra
band, in violation of her own DEGREES
concerning the London declaration
She has, further, through her nava
forces, taken from neutral ships nu
merous Germans liable to militar.
service and has made CT them pris
oners of war"
Acting Secretary Lansing has ISSUED
the following statement:
"The department has received from
the American ambassador at Berlil
the text of proclamation issued b.
the German admiralty on the 4th in
slant, which reads as follows
The Proclamation.
1.-The British waters around Grea
Britain including the whole Englisl
channel, are declared hereby to be in
Guided within the zone of war and tina
after the 18th instant all enemy mel
chant vessels encountered in thes
waters will be destroyed, even if
may not be possible always to saw,
their crews and passengers.
: Within this war zone neutra
: vessels are exposed to danger sine
, in view of the misuse of the neutra
flags ordered by the government O
Great Britain on the 31st Ultimate an,
on the hazards of naval warfare neu
trail vessels can not always be pre-
vented from suffering from the al
tacks intended for enemy ships.
1.-The routes of navigation aroun,
J the north of the Shetland islands il
the eastern part of the North sea an
in strip 30 miles wide along tn
Dutch coast are not open to the dar
ger zone"
, THE German foreign office sent tn
, ambassador long memorandum e2
lplanatOry of this proclamation"