South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-05-14
u. S. NOTE TO GERMANY

as OF course. the rule that the lives OF
noncomb atants. whether they be Of
neutral citizenship or citizens OF one
OF the nations at war. cannot lawfully
or rfghtfuily be put in jeopardy by the
capture or detention of an unarmed
merchantmen and recognize also. as
all other nations do. the obligation 20
take the usual precautiOn Of visit and
search TO ascertain whether a sus-
pected merchantmen Is In fact Of bel
ligerent nationality or in fact carry
ing contraband Of war under neu-
trail flag.
Cannot Use Submarines.
''The government of the United
States. therefore desires TO call the at
tention of the imperial German gov
eminent, with the utmost earnestness,
10 the fact that the objection TO their
present method of attack against the
trade Of their enemies lies in the prac-
teal impossibility of employing sub
marines in the destruction of COM
merce without disregarding those
rules of fairness, reason, justice and
humanity which all modern opinion
regards as imperative IL is practic-
ally impossible for the officers Of
submarine TO visit a merchantmen at
sea and examine her papers and car
go. 1t is practically impossible for
them TO make a prize of her; and, if
they cannot put prize crew on board
Of her they cannot sink her without
leaving her crew and all on board Of
her 70 the mercy Of the sea in her
small boats. These facts. it is un-
derstood, the imperial German gov
eminent frankly admit
1--WE are informed that in the in
stances of which we have spoken time
enough for even that poor measure Of
safety was not given, and in at least
two OF the cases cited not so much as
a warning was received Manifestly
summarizes cannot - used against
merchantmen, as the last few weeks
have shown, without an inevitable vi
olation of many sacred principles Of
justice and humanity.
Have Right On Seas.
American citizens act within their
indisputable rights in taking their
ships and in travelling wherever their
legitimate business calls them upon
the high seas, and exercise those
rights in what should be the well JUS
titled confidence that their lives will
not be endangered by acts done in
clear violation of universally acknowl-
edged international obligations. and
certainly in the confidence that their
own government will sustain them in
the exercise of their rights.
There was recently published in
the newspapers Of the United States,
/ regret to inform the imperial Ger
man government, a formal warning
purporting to come from the imperial
German embassy at Washington, ad-
dressed to the people of the United
States and stating in effect that any
citizen Of the United States who eX-
ercised his right to travel upon the
seas would do so at his peril if his
Journey should take him within the
zone of waters within which the inn
perial German navy was using sub
marines against the commerce Of
Great Britain and France, nOtwith-
standing the respectful but very earn
est protest of his government, the gov
eminent of the United States. 1 do not
refer to this for the purpose of call
ing the attention of the imperial Ger
man government at this time to the
surprising irregularity of a cOmmuni-
cation from the imperial German en-
bassy at Washington, addressed to the
people Of the United States through
the newspapers. but only for the pur-
pose of pointing out that no warning
that an unlawful and inhuman act will
be committed can possibly be accepted
as an excuse or palliatiOn for that act.
/ or as an abatement of the response
bility for its commission.
Hopes Mistakes Were Made.
Long acquainted as this govern
ment has been with the character of
the imperial German government and
with the high principles of equity by
which they have in the past been
actuated and guided, the government
of the United States cannot believe
that the commanders of the vessels
which committed these acts of lawless-
ness did so except under a misappre-
hensiOn of the orders issued by the
imperial German naval authorities. 1t
takes il for granted that al least
within the practical possibilities of