Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-05-12
BRITISH GOVERNMENT
BLAMES GERMANYFOP
LUSTTANIA TRACFDv
Declares Enemy Beea,
Submarine Attacks, Fors
ing Retaliation-SinkinO
of Ships Characterize
as Murder.

LONDON, NAV -
The responsibility for the f,,sy,,
horror Is put squarely up In cs.l.ana
in an official statement issued bass narJ
disclaims the German attempts ~ Wnish
the blame TO British policy. In nsss a''ass y.
statement says: We
THE German Government stato. /,
responsibility for the loss NJ tbo ,ut
tania rests with the British Govarr..'''s,ll' ''sl'
which through It's plan OF starvIns "
ciVll population of Germany has fors.s
Germany 10 resort TO retallatory ma.
urcs. The reply to this Il as folior.. 'a'-
"As far back as last Deccmher As,-,
Won Tirpitz dhe German Marina at,'
ister) in an interview foreshadov..ass asiR'
Submarine blockade of Great Britstr
merchant ship and a hospital shln ,ll ana
torpedoed January 80 and Febr1isr,' !, /,
respectively
The German Government on trab...
declared Its intention of instItul,rs
general submarine blockade NJ ~ !
Britain and Ireland, with the ayou,oS ~ ~
pose of cutting off supplIes for y w
islands This blockade was nut in 49,.
February IS. '"eet
AS already stated, merchant v.,..,.
had, as n matter OF fact, been strS y
a German submarine at the end of I,s
uary. Before February no vessel carr
Ing food supplies for Germany had ~
held up by His Maiesty's Governross,'
except on the ground that there wss w
son to believe the foodstuHs wero 4
tended for use of the armed force, !" !,
the enemy or the enemy Governmsn, "
His Maiesty's Government had H..
ever informed the State Departnen, =.
January % that 1t felt bound to MA. y 4
n prize court the foodstuffs of the stosr,..
Wilhelmina, which was going To ~.
man port in view of the Covernr,,.,
control of foodstuffs in GERMANY y
being destined for the enemy Cov,.a
ment and therefore liable to capturs
rho decision of His Maiesty's Govs,,.
ment to carry out the moasurez l.A
down by tho order in Council was An.
10 the action OF the German Govermsnl
In insisting on its submarine bloctsS.
The Germans attempt to Justify N.
sinking of the LusItanla by the fact ,h,,
she had arms and ammunition ON bos,d
The presence of contraband on hoard
neutral vessel does render her liabls a
capture, but certainly not to destr,Ictlnn
with the loss of a large portion OF hs,
crew and passengers. Every enemy Wi,
sci Is fair prize, but there is no legal
provision, not to speak of the princlpi.,
of humanity, which would Justify wha,
can only be described as murder becauv,
vessel carries Contraband.
THE Germans maintain that after ~
peatcd official and unofficial warnings m,
Maiesty's Government was responsibI,
for the loss of life. as they considered
themselves able to declare that the boa,
ran no risk and thus 'liGht-heartedly AZ.
sumo the responsibility for the human Lives
on board a steamer which. owing 10
its armament and cargo. is liable to de.
struCtion.' The reply thereto is:
"First-His Majestys Government never
declared the boat ran no risk
"Second-The fact that the Germans
issued their warning shows that the
crime was premedtated They had no
more right to murder passengers after
warning them than before
"Thrd-In spite of their attempts to
put the blame on Great Britain, 1t win
tax the ingenuity even of the Germans to
explain away the fact that 1t was 4
German torpedo. fired by a German sea-
man from German submarine that sank
the vessel and caused over 1000 deaths,T :