Evening star., 1915-02-12
The Notes to the Powers.

Finding itself. as The Star sug-
gested the other day, between the
Inillstones of the British use of the
American flag on its merchant ma
rine as a means of avoiding capture
and threatened German submarine
operations against all vessels, flying
whatever flag, on suspicion of being
British, the United States has now
protested to both governments IN
terms which must command re-
spectful consideration. The notes
sent to Berlin and London. just pub
lished. state the American position
courteously, but with necessary
vigor and plainness.
There can be no misunderstanding
as to our contentious. We object to
the British use of the American flag
as a means of gaining immunity
from capture at sea on the ground
that this exposes American shipping
to destruction through the undis-
eliminating activity OF German war
ships. We protest to Germany
against such undiscriminating ac-
tivity as is threatened in the Ger
man admiralty's proclamation of
February 4. and give definite warning
that if American ships or lives are
destroyed at sea through such mistake
Of identity the United States will
, view the act as IAN indefensible vio-
lation of neutral rights" and would
zbe constrained to hold the German
government to strict accountability
and to take any steps it might be
necessary to take to safeguard
American lives and property"
The essential definition of the case
in the note to Germany is comprised
in the following passage:
The sole right of belligerent in
dealing with neutral vessels on the
high seas is limited to visit and
. search, unless a blockade is pro-
claimed and effectively maintained,
which this government does not un-
derstand to be proposed in this case.
To declare or exercise right to
attack and destroy any vessel enter
ing prescribed area of the high
seas without first certainly determin-
ing its belligerent nationality and
the contraband character of its cargo
would be an act so unprecedented in
naval warfare that this government
is reluctant to believe that the i'm
perial government of Germany in this
case contemplates it as possible.
The suspicion that enemy ships
are using neutral flags improperly
can create no just presumption that
all ships traversing prescribed
area are subject to the same sus-
picion. 1t is to determine exactly
such questions that this government
understands the right of visit and
search to have been recognized
The protest to Great Britain is no
less vigorous or explicit 1t is most
effectively put in this language:
The occasional use of the flag OF
neutral or an enemy under the
stress OF immediate pursuit and to
deceive an approaching enemy =
seems to this government very diff
ferent thing from an explicit sane
ton by belligerent government for
its merchant ships generally to fly
the flag of neutral power within
/. certain portions of the high seas
which are presumed to be frequented
with hostile warships.
The formal declaration of such a
policy of general misuse of a neu-
trails flag jeopardizes the vessels of
the neutral visiting those waters in
peculiar degree by raising the pre-
sumption that they arc of belligerent
nationality regardless of the flag
which they may carry"
1t is far better for the United
States to speak vigorously now, as
= III these notes, than to let the situa-
ton drift until perhaps some Ameri.
-an ship is lost in consequence of the
intolerable situation created by the
actions of the two governments. This
would possibly plunge US into a war
for which we are ill-prepared and for
which there is no real justification
Whatever our state of preparedness
however, the American people will
indorse every word of the notes now
sent to England and Germany as a
correct expression OF national feel
ing.