The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-05-18
American Note Presented
To German Government

rands as passengers on merchant ships
of belligerent nationality, and that 1t
must hold the imperial German gov
ernment to strict accountability for
any infringement Of those rights, in
tentionai or incidental. 1t does not un-
derstand the imperial German gov
ernment to question those rights. 1t
assumes, on the contrary, that the I'M
! perial government accept, as Of course,
the rule that the lives of noncombat-
ants, whether they be of neutral cit
izenship or citizens Of one of the ma
tions at war, can not lawfully or
rightfully be put in jeopardy by the
capture or destruction of an unarmed
merchantmen, and recognize also, as
all other nations do, the obligation to
take the usual precaution of visit and
search to ascertain whether sus-
pected merchantmen is in fact of bel
ligerent nationality or is in fact car
rying contraband of war under neu-
trail flag.
Where the objection Lies.
"The government of tn e 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, justic and human
ity which all modern opinion regards
as imperative. 1t is practically impos-
sible for the officers of submarine to
visit merchantmen at sea and exam
inc her papers and cargo. 1t is prac-
tically impossible for them to make
prize of her; and, if they can not put
prize crew on board of her, they
can not 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 understood, the i'm
perial German government frankly ad-
nit. We are informed that in the in
stances 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
warning was received. Manifestly,
submarines can not be used against
merchantmen, as the last few weeks
have shown, without an inevitable vio-
lation of many sacred principles OF
justice and humanity.
Within Their Rights.
American citizens act within their
indisputable rights in taking their
ships and 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 in clear vio-
endangered by acts done In clear Gio-
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.
"There was recently published in the
newspapers of the United States, re-
gret to inform the imperial German
government, formal warning, pur-
porting to come from the imperial Ger
man 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 trevel 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 te commerce of Great