Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1915-05-14

government has already taken Occa-
sion to inform the Imperial German
government that it cannot admit the
adoption of such measures or such
warning of danger to operate as in
any degree an abbreviation of the
rights of American shipmasters or of
American citizens bound on lawful er-
randS as passengers on merchant ships
of belligerent nationality; and that it
must hold the Imperial German gov
ernment to strict accountability for
any infringement of those rights, in
territorial or incidental. 1t does not
understand the Imperial German gov
ernment to question those rights.
Safety of Non -Combatants.
1t assumes, on the contrary. that the
imperial government accept. as matter
of course, the rule that the lives of nom
combatants, whether they be of neu-
trail citizenship or citizens of one of
the nations at war, cannot lawfully or
rightfully be put in Jeopardy by the
capture or destruction of an unarmed
merchantmen and recognize a1So,. as
all other nations do, the obligation to
take the usual precaution of visit and
search to ascertain whether a sus-
pected merchantmen is in fact of bel
ligerent nationality or is in fact carry
ing cOntraband of war under a neutral
flag.
Disregard of Rules of Humanity.
THE government of the United
States. therefore, desires to call the
attention of the imperial German gov
ernment with the utmost earnestness
to the fact that the objection to their
present method of attack against the
trade of their enemies lies in the prac-
tical impossibility of employing sub
marines in the destruction of COM
merce without disregarding those rules
of fairness. reason, justice and hu-
manity which all modern opinion re-
CARDS as imperative. 1t is practically
impossible for the officers of a sub
marine to visit a merchantmen at sea
and examine her papers and cargo.
No Measure of Safety.
'Tt is practically impossible for them
to make prize of her; and, if they
cannot put a prize crew on board Of
her, they cannot sink her without leav-
ing her crew and all on board of her
to the mercy of the sea in her small
boats. These facts, it is understood,
the imperial German government
frankly admit. We are informed that
in the instances of which we have
spoken time enough for even that poor
measure of safety was not given, and
in at least two of the cases cited not
so much as a warning was received.
Man1feStly, submarines cannot be used
against merchantmen, as the last few
weeks have shown, without an inevita-
BILE violation of many sacred principles
of justice and humanity
Rights of American Citizens.
American citizens act within their
indisputabIe rights in taking their
ships and in travelling wherever their
legitimate business calls them upon
the high seas, and exercise those rights
in what should be the well justified
confidence that their lives will not be
endangered by acts done in clear vio-
lation of universally acknowledged in
ternational obligations, and certainly
in the confidence that their own gov
ernment will sustain them in the exer-
else of their rights.
Advertisement of Warning No Excuse.
There was recently published in the
newspapers of the United States, re-
gret to inform the imperial German
government, a formal warning pur-
porting to come from the imperial
German embassy at Washington, ad-
dressed to the people of the United
States, and stating, in effect, that any
citizen Of the United States who ex-
ercised his right of free travel upon the
seas would do SO at his peril if his
journey should take him within the
zone Of waters within which the i'm
perial German navy was using sub
marines against the commerce of
Great Britain and France, notwith-
standing the respectful but very ear
nest protest Of this government, the
government of the United States 1 do
not refer to this for the purpose of
calling the attention of the imperial
German government at this time to the
surprising irregularity of a communi-
cation from the imperial German en-
bassy at Washington addressed to the
people of the United States through
the newspapers, but only for the pur-
| pose of pointing out that no warning
that an unlawful and inhumane act
will be committed can possibly be ac-
cepted as an excuse or palliation for
that act or as an abatement of the re-
sponsibility for its commission.
Were LaWIess Acts Committed Under
a Misrepresentation
Long acquainted as this govern
ment has been with the character of
the imperial German government and
with the high principles of equity by
which they have in the past been
actuated and guided, the government
Of the United States cannot believe
that the commanders of the vessels
which committed these acts of lawless-