The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1915-06-17

western Newspaper Union News Service.
shington.-Assurances that here
after measures will be adopted to safe
guard American lives and American
ships on the high seas are asked by
the United States of the German gov
ernment in the rejoinder, made public,
to Germany's unresponsive note to the
American protest growing out of the
Lusitania disaster, in which more than
100 Americans perished.
The state department also gave out
the German governments answer to
a note in the William P. Frye case.
In this Germany upholds her right to
sink American vessels carrying con-
traband to her enemies and insists
that the case be settled in German
prize court, a procedure which the
American government has contended
to be unnecessary, in view of the Prus-
sian-American treaty of 1928. Ger
many, however offers to compensate
American losses caused when the Frye
was sunk last January by the German
auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich.
The Text of the Note Follows.
"The Secretary of State Ad Interim to
the American Ambassador at Ber-
lin.
Department of State.
Washington, June 8, 1915.
american Ambassador, Berlin:
You are instructed to deliver text
ually the following note to the minis
ter of foreign affairs:
in compliance with Your Excel
lency's request l did not fail to trans
NIT to my government Immediately
upon their receipt your note of May
% in reply to my note of May Is, and
your supplementary note of June 1, set
ting forth the conclusion so far as
reached by the imperial German gov
ernment concerning the attacks on the
American steamers Cushing and Gulf
light. ! am now instructed by my gov
ernment to communicate the following
in reply:
1.-THE government of the United
States notes with qualification the full
recognition by the Imperial German
government, in discussing the cases of
the Cushing and the Gulfiight, of the
principle of freedom of all parts Of
open sea to neutral ships and the
frank willingness of the imperial Ger
man government to acknowledge and
meet it's liability where the fact of at
tack upon neutral ships, which have
not been guilty of any hostile act, by
German aircraft or vessels of war Is
satisfactorily established; and the gov
ernment of the United States will IL
due course lay before the imperia
German government, as it requests
full information concerning the attach
on the steamer Cushing.
with regard to the sinking Of thu
steamer Falaba, by which an Ameri
can citizen lost his life, the govern
ment of the United States is surprised
to find the imperial German govern
ment contending that an effort on tn
part of the merchantmen to escap
capture and secure assistance alter
the obligation of the officers seekin
to make the capture in respect of tn
safety of the lives of those on boar
the merchantmen, although the vesse
had ceased her attempt to escap
when torpedoed.
These are not new circumstances
They have been in the minds of states
men and of international jurist
throughout the development Of nava
warfare, and the government of tn
United States does not understand tha
they have ever been held to alter tn
principles of humanity upon which
has insisted.
Nothing but actual forcible resis
ance or continued efforts to escape b
fight when ordered to stop for tn
purpose of visit on the part of tn
merchantmen has ever been held