The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1915-05-21
PRESIDENT WILSON
SENDS NOTE TO BERLIN

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binary circumstances of the present
war and the measures adopted by their
adversaries in seeking to cut Germany
off from all commerce, to adopt meth
DDS of retaliation which go much be
yond the ordinary methods of war
fare at sea; in the proclamation Of a
war zone from which they have warn
ed neutral ships to keep away. This
government has already taken occa-
sion to inform the Imperial German
Government that it cannot admit the
adoption of such measures or such a
warning of danger to operate as in
any degree an abbreviation of the
rights of American shipmasters or of
American citizens bound on lawful
errands as passengers on merchant
ships of beligerent nationality; and
it must hold the Imperial German
Government to a strict accountability
for any infringement of those rights,
international or incidental. 1t does
not understand the Imperial German
Government to question those rights.
It assumes, to the contrary, that
the Imperial Government accept,
as, of course, the rule that the lives
of non-combatants, whether they be
Of neutral citizenship or citizens OF
one Of the nations at war, cannot law
fully or rightfully be put in jeopardy
by the capture or destruction OF an
unarmed merchantmen, and recog'
nize also, as all other nations do, the
obligation to take the usual precaution
of visit and search to ascertain
whether a suspected merchantmen
is in fact of belligerent nationality or
is in fact carrying contraband of war
under a neutral flag.
The government Of the United
States, therefore, desires to call the
attention of the Imperial German gov
eminent with the utmost earnestness
to the fact that the objection of their
present method of attack against the
trade of their enemies lies in the prac-
tical impossibility for the officers OF
a submarine to visit merchantmen
at sea and examine her papers and
cargo. 1t is practically impossible for
them to make a prize of her, and, If
they cannot put a prize crew on board
of her, they cannot sink her without
leaving her crew and all on board of
her to the mercy of the sea in her
small boats These facts, it is UNI
derstood, the Imperial government ad-
mits frankly We are informed that
in the instances of which we have
spoken time enough for even that
poor measure of safety was not civ
en- and in at least two of the cases
cited, not SO much as a warning was
received. Manifestly submarines can
not be used against merchantmen, as
the last few weeks have shown, with
out an inevitable violation of many
sacred principles of justice and hui
mainly.
American citizens act within their
indisputable 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-jus.
titled confidence that their lives will
not be endangered by acts done in
clear violation of universally acknowl-
edged international obligation and
certainty in the confidence that their
own government will sustain them in
the exercise of their rights.
There was recently published in
the newspapers OF the United States,
/ regret to inform the Imperial Gov
eminent, formal warning, purportins
to come from the Imperial German
embassy at Washington, addressed to
the people Of the United States, and
STANG in effect that any citizen of the
United States who exercised 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 Imperial German
navy was using submarines against
the commerce of Great Britain and
France, Notwithstanding the respect
full, but very earenst protest Of his
government the government of the
United States. do not refer to this
for the purpose of calling the atten
ton of the Imperial German Govern
ment at this time to the surprising
irregularity of communication from
the Imperial German embassy a
Washington addressed to the people
of the United States through the news
papers, but only for the purpose o
pointing out that no warning that al
unlawful and inhumane act would bt
committed can possibly be accepted al
an excuse or palliating for that &C
or as an abatement of the responsi
bility for its commission.
Long acquainted as this govern
ment has been with the character o
the Imperial German Government, ant
with the high principles of equity b!
which they have in the past been act
uated and guided, the government o
the United States cannot believe tina
the commanders of the vessels whicl
committed these acts of lawlessnes