Valdez daily prospector., 1915-05-26
PRESIDENT WILSON'S NOTE TO
 GERMANY.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Washington, May 13, 1915.

" dSilIiStoii, May 1o, Io1o.
 The Secretary of State to the Amer
 ican Ambassador at Berlin:
 Please call on the Minister of For eign Affairs and after reading to him this communication leave with him a copy.
 In view of recent acts of the Ger man authorities in violation of Amer ican rights on the high seas, which eliminated in the torpedoing and sinking of the British steamship Lu- sitania on May z, 1915, by which over 100 American citizens lost their lives, it is clearly wise and desirable that the Government of the United States and the Imperial German Government should come to clear and full un- derstanding as to the grave situation which has resulted.
 The sinking of the British passen- ger steamer Falaba by German sub marine on March 28, through which Leon c. Thrasher, an American citi- zen, was drowned; the attack on Alp. Til 2S on the American vessel Cush- ing by a German aeroplane; the tor pedoing on May of the American vessel Gulflight by a German sub- marine, as a result of which two or more American citizens met their death; and, finally, the torpe9oing and sinking of the steamship Lusitan- ia, constitute a series of events which the Government of the United States has observed with growing concern, distress, and amazement.
 Recalling the humane and enlight- ened attitude hitherto assumed by the Imperial German Government in mat ters of international right, and par ticularly with regard to the freedom of the seas; having learned to recog- nize the German views and the Ger man influence in the field of inter- national obligation as always engaged upon the side of justice and human ity; and having understood the in. structions of the Imperial German Government to it's naval commanders to be upon the same plane of humane action prescribed by the naval codes of other nations, the Government of the United States was loath to be- leve-it can not now bring itself to believe--that these acts, so absolute ly contrary to the rules, the prac- tices, and the spirit of modern war fare, could have the countenance or sanction of that great Government. It feels it to be it's duty, therefore, to address the Imperial German Gov ernment concerning them with the utmost frankness and in the earnest hope that it is not mistaken in ex- pecting action on the part of the Inn perial German Government, which will correct the unfortunate impress sions which have been created, and vindicate once more the position of that Government with regard to the sacred freedom of the seas.
 The Government of the United States has been apprised that the Imperial German Government consid- cred themselves to be obliged by the extraordinary circumstances of the present war and the measures adopt ed by their adversaries in seeking to cut Germany off from all commerce, to adopt methods of retaliation which go much beyond the ordinary meth ods of warfare at sea, in the procla. nation of a war zohe from which they have warned neutral ships to keep away This Government has already taken occasion to inform the Imperial German Government that it cannot admit the adoption of such measures or such warning of danger to op- crate as in any degree an abbrevia- tion of the rights of American ship masters or of American citizens bound on lawful errands as passengers or merchant ships of belligerent nation ality, and that it must hold the I'm perial German Government to strict accountability for any infringement of those rights, intentional or incl dental. It does not understand the Imperial German Government to Ques- tion those rights It assumes, on the contrary, that the Imperial Govern ment accept, as of course, the rule that the lives of noncombatants, whether they be of neutral citizen ship or citizens of one of the nations at war, cannot lawfully or rightfully