Carson City daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1907-1930, 1915-06-11

permitted under the laws OF tne
United States to vessel also carry
ing passengers, and serving, in vir
naval forces of Great Britain. For
tunately these are matters concern
ing which the government Of the
United States is in position to give
the imperial German government O.
iicial information OF the facts al
legged in your excellency's note, il
true. the government OF the United
States would nave been bound 10
take official cognizance in perform
ing its recognized duty as neutral
power and in enforcing its national
laws. 1t was its duty to see to il
that the Lusitania was not armed Tor
offensive action, that she was not
serving as a transport, that she did
not carry a cargo prohibited by the
statutes of the United States, and
that, if in fact she was a naval YES
sci OF Great Britain she should not
receive clearance as a merchantmen;
and it performed tnat duty and en-
forced its statutes with scrupulous
vigilance through its regularly con-
stituted officials. 1t is able, there
fore, TO assure the imperial German
government that it has been mimi
formed. If the imperial German
government should deem itself to >e
i'll possession of convincing evidence
that the United States did not per-
form these duties with thoroughness
the government of the United States
sincerely hopes that it will submit
that evidence for consideration.
Contentious Are Irrelevant
Whatever may be the contentious
OF the imperial German government
regarding the carriage of contraband
OF war on board the Lusania or re-
garding the explosion Of that mater
ial by the torpedo, it need only ne
said that in the view OF this govern
ment these contentious are irrelevant
to the question of the legality of the
methods used by the German naval
authorities in sinking that vessel
But the sinking of passenger
ships involves principles of humanity
which throw into the background
any special circumstances OF detail
that may be thought to affect the
cases, principles which lit it, as
the imperial government will 10
doubt be quick to recognize and ac-
knowledge, out of the class of ordin-
airy subjects of diplomatic discussion
or of international controversy.
Whatever be the other facts regard
ing the Lusitania, the principal fact
as that a great steamer, primarily and
chiefly a conveyance for passengers
'and carrying more than thousand
'souls who had no part or lot in the
conduct OF the war, was to1pedoed
and sunk without so much as chal-
len2e or a warning, and that men,.
women and children were sent O
their death in circumstances unpar-
jalleled in modern warfare. The fact
that more than one hundred Ameri-
can citizens were among those who
government OF the United States 20
speak these things at once with sol
emn emphasis, to call the attention
OF the imperial German govern
ment to the grave responsibility
(which the government OF the United
States conceives that it has incur
fred in this tragic error, and to the
.indisputable principle upon which
THAT responsibility rests.
Fighting for Rights of Humanity
4 The government Of the United
States is contending for something
much greater than mere rights ol
property or privileges of commerce
/ 1t is contending fhr nothing less
high and sacred than the rights oi
humanity, which every governme 4:
horors itself in respecting and which
no government is justified in resign
/ ing on behalf of those under its care
and its authority. Only her actual
! resistance to capture or refusal tc
/, stop when ordered to do so for the
purpose of visit could have afforded
the commander of the submarine any
justification for so much as putting
the lives of those on board the shiT
| in jeopardy. This principle the gov
. Continued on page three)