Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-02-07
Waters Around Great Britain,
Including Entire English
Channel Placed in War
Zone,
NEUTRAL VESSELS ARE
DECLARED IN DANGER
EnemyS Merchant Ships Are
to Be Destroyed Even When
Impossible to Save Crews
and Passengers.

tHv 1oRMsa JOURNAL sPsciAL lGAVEo wissI
Washington. Feb 6.--Acting Secre- |
tary Lansing issued the following
statement tonight;
The department has received from
the American ambassador at Berlin
the text OF a proclamation issued by
the German admiralty on the fourth
instant which reads as follows:
Tho waters around Great Britain,
including the whole English channel,
are declared hereby to be included
within the zone Of war ana that after
the eighteenth instant all enemy
merchant vessels encountered In theGe
waters will be destroyed, even IL Il
may not be possible always to save
their crews and passengers.
Within this war zone neutral yes-
sells are exposed to danger since. In
view of the misuse of the neutral
flags ordered by tho government OF
Great Britain on the S1st ultimo, and
Of hazards Of naval warfare, neutral
vessels cannot always be prevented
from suffering from the attacks in
tended for enemy shipc.
The routes Of navigation around
the north Of the Shetland islands In
the eastern part Of the North sea and
in a strip thirty miles wide along the
Dutch coast are not open to the dam
ger zone
'rhe German foreign office sent to
the Ambassador a long memorandum
explanatory Of this proclamation"
Not as First Reported.
Germany's proclamation of a war
zone IN the waters surrounding Great
Britain and ireland, contrary tofrst
reports, does not include the seas di-
rectly adjacent to any neutral eoun-
tries in Europe
The official text OF the proclama-
tion. received today from Amhassa-
dor Gerard at Berlin by the state de-
partment and made public tonight,
reveals that the areas directly bor-
dering on the territorial waters Of
France and Great Britain are held
to be in the zone of operations with
in which neutral vessels may be sub
ject to the hazards Of naval warfare,
The original wireless report stated
that shipping north of the Shetland
islands and for thirty nautical miles
along the Dutch coast would be on
dangered in the same way as tie
waters around the belligerent terri
tory.
The official text, after pointing out
that the waters surrounding Great
Britain and Ireland including the
English channel, were to he consd-
cred within the zone of war, says
however, that the routes of naViga-
ton around the north Of the Shet-
land islands in the eastern part Of
the North sea and In strip thirty
imles wide along the Dutch coast are
not open to the danger zone"
Suggested Neutral Routes.
When ofticias of the state depart
ment received the text, they immedl-
ately sent a message of inquiry TO
determine whether there was not
some slight error in transmission OF
the last phrase mot open to the
danger zone,' but said later they had
no doubt that the particularizatlon OF
these routes meant they were the sug-
gested routes for neutral ships and
that shipping to Norway, Sweden,
Denmark and Holland was not af-
fected by the proclamation.
A statement issued by the German
embassy here declaring that Ameri- |
can ships laden with foodstuffs for
the civilian population of Germany's
enemies would not be molested, aud
expressing the hope that Great
Britain would not, by Selling the
steamer Wilhelmina, carrying food
supplies to Germany, make necessary
,..,, ,,:..,.....s.. of q different policy, was
one of the numerous developments Of
the situation during the day
Precedent In United states.
In the informal discussion Of the
possibilities of injury to neutral snip |
ping. irrespective Of future action BY
the United states, state department
officials recalled that the record OF
the American government in sinking
ships which endeavored TO run the
blockade before the civil war con
tanned some cases In which innocent |
lives were lost. As the German proc
lamation does not prescribe a block
ade. there Is no warrant for sinking
of any neutral ship, in the view Of
many officials here without first de-
termining the character and destlha-
ton of the vessel and taking off pas
senpare and crew