The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1915-05-25

I
quent loss of innocent lives is deplor'
ed, the newspapers consider it pure
| ly justifiable act of war, and both the
official account of the German admir-.
atty and the press versions claim tina,
the great liner was an auxiliary crui.
ser armed with guns-and this des-
pite the denial of the British admiralty
and the statement of the collector OF
the port of New York to the contrary
The official statement of the German
government runs in part:
THE Lusitania naturally was arm
ed with guns, as were recently most OF
the English steamships. Moreover
as is we'll known here, she had large
quantities Of war-material in her car
go.
Her owners, therefore, knew to
what danger the passengers were ex-
posed They alone bear all the re-
sponsiblity for what has happened.
Germany, on her part, left nothing
undone to warn them repeatedly and
strongly. The imperial ambassador in
Washington even went so far as to
make a public warning, so as to draw
attention to this danger"
The powerful Berliner Tageblatt, af-
ter expressing it's deep emotion" at
the loss of life, continues;
The many who now are sorrowing
may raise complaint against Winston
Spencer Churchill, British first lord of
the admiralty, who, by constituencies
instructions which must bring the
curse of mankind conjured up this cru
81 warfare. The Lusitania was war
ship on the list of the English auxil-
larry cruisers, and carried armament
of twelve strongly mounted guns. She
was more strongly mounted with guns
than any German armored cruiser AS
an auxiliary cruiser she must have
been prepared for attack"
The Berlin Lokal Anseiger says
THE fact that she was a fully armed
cruiser completely justifies her des-
truction under the laws of war"
Though most of the German papers
regret the loss of neutral citizens, they
hold that the victims were themselves
to blame; for example the Kreuzzei-
tung says: "If citizens of neutral
states were lost with the sunken ship,
they must bear the full blame; and
Count Reventlow, in the Tageszeitung,
observes:
THE American government probably
will make the case the basis for diplo-
matte action, but it could have pre-
vented the loss of American lives by
instructions. 1t is the
governments fault, there
fore, if it did not take Germany's war;
zone declarations seriously enough"
The Berlin organ of the Catholic
Center party, the Germania, discounts
the attempts by Germany's antagon-
lists to make moral capital" against
her out of the sinking of the ship, and
proceeds
I'VE can look forward to such efforts
with clear conscience, for we have
proceeded correctly. We can only an
swer to those who place their sympa-
thies above justice that war is war"
Another view of the moral value of
the act comes from the Kolnische
Volkszeitung, also an organ of the
Center party, 1t runs:
THE sinking of the Lusitania is a
success of our submarines which must
be placed beside the greatest achieve
ment of this naval war. The sinking
of the giant English steamship is a
success of moral significance which is
still greater than material success.
With joyful pride we contemplate this
latest deed of our navy. 1t will not
be the last The English wish to aban-
don the German people to death by
starvation. We are more humane. We
simply sank an English ship with pass
Sh6Ntop NIot CT titii o"b liSh dilu
responsibility, entered the zone of OPP
erations."
The Frankfurter Zeitung says.
"a German war-vessel has sunk the
ship. 1t has done its duty.
For the German navy the sinking
of the Lusitania means an extraordi-
nary success. Its destruction demol-
ished the last fable with which the
people of England consoled them
selves on which hostile shipping re-
lied when it dared to defy the Ger
man warnings.
I'VE do not need to seek grounds to
Justify the destruction of a British
ship. She belonged to the enemy and
brought us harm. She has fallen to
our shots.
"The enemy and the whole world
were warned that he who ventured to
trust himself within her staked his
life"