Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1915-05-15
FULL TEXT OF WILSON'S
NOTE ON LUSITANIAC CASE.

much beyond the ordinary methods
OF warfare at sea, in the proclamation
OF war zone from which they have
warned neutral ships to keep away.
This government has already taken
occasion to inform the imperial gov
ernment that 1t cannot admit the
| adoption of such measures or such a
warning OF danger to operate as in
! any degree an abbreviation of the
rights Of American shipmasters or of
American citizens bound on lawful err
rands as passengers or merchant ships
OF belligerent nationality; and that it
must hold the imperial German gov.
erhment to a strict accountability for
| any infringement of those rights, in.
tentonal or accidental. It does not
understand the imperial German gov
ernment to question those rights. 1t
assumes. on the contrary, that the i'm
per:al German government accept, as,
OF course, the rule that the lives of
pon-combatants, whether they be of
neutral citizenship or citizens of any
OF the nations at war. cannot law
full: or rightfully be put In jeopardy
by the capture or destruction of an
unarmed merchantmen, and recog-
nizes also, as all other nations do, the
obligation to take the usual precau-
lion OF visit and search to ascertain
whether a suspected merchantmen is
in fact of beligerent nationality or is
in fact carrying contrabald OF war
under a neutral flag.
The government of the United
States, therefore, desire to call the
fact that the objection to their present
method of attack against the trade of
their enemies lies in the practical i'm
possibility of employing submarines in
the destruction OF commerce without
disregarding those rules of fairness,
reason, justice and humanity, which
ali modern opinion regards as imper-
ative. 1t is practically impossible for
the officers of submarine to visit
merchantmen at sea and examine
her papers and cargo. 1t is practi-
cally impossible for them 10 make a
prize of her and, If they Cannot put
prize crew on board of her, they can
not sink her without leaving her crew
and all on board of her to the mercy
of the sea in her small boats. These
,antc II ic understood tho
German government frankly admit.
We are informed that in the instances
OF VI hich we have spoken time enough
Ior 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
submarines cannot be used against
merchantmen, as the last few weeks
have shown. without an inevitable vio-
lation of many sacred principles of
justice and humanity.
American citizens act within their
indisputable rights in taking their
legitimate business calls them upon
the high seas and exercises these
rights in what should be we'll justi-
fed confidence that their lives will
not be endangered by acts done in
clear violation of universally acknowl-
edged international obligation. 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,
l regret to inform the imperial gov
ernment "a formal warning, purport-
ing to come from the imperial German
embassy at Washington, addressed to
the people Of the United States, and
stating In effect that any citizen Of
the United States who exercised his
right Of free travel upon the seas
would do so at his peril IL his journey
should take him within the zone OF
waters within which the imperial Ger.
man navy was using submarines
against the commerce of Great Britain
and France. notwithstanding the re-
spectful, but very earnest, protest Of
his government, the government of
the United States. do not refer
to this for the purpose Of calling the
attention of the imperial German gov.
ernment at this time to the surprising
irregularity OF communication from
the imperial German embassy at
Washington, addressed to the people
OF the United States through the news.
papers, but only for the purpose OF
pointing out that no warning that
an unlawful and inbumane act would
be committed could possibly be accept.
ed as an excuse or palliation for that
act or as an abatement OF the respon.
sibility for It's commission.
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 actu.
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