New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-05-19
GERMAN PRESS
COMMENT BITTER
ON U. 5. NOTE
Socialist Only One to
Question Wisdom OF
Submarine Policy.

Berlin. May ls-The official text of
the American note 20 Germany was
published here to-day.
i, was said at the Foreign Office that
It would be some days before the
answer Of the imperial government
was ready. This IS because the note
raises many points. and consultation
between several departments OF the
government viii be necessary IN pre-
pairing a reply.
The "TaCliche Runschau' says:
Owing to the presence on board the
Lusitania of ammunition, which men
aced the lives OF many thousand Ger
man soldiers. u was not only Ger
many's right but her duty 10 sink this
auxiliary cruiser. which was bringing
ammunition 20 England and using
American citizens as shield for carry
ing contrabanG. More sacred than the
lives Of neutrals are the lives Of our
compatriots, our brave troops, who
would long since have ended the war
if America had not prolonged II by the
profitable export OF arms 10 our en-
emies.
America, as always, is proud Of her
sober reasonableness, and when Eng
lish mendacity has abated she will say
that Germany violated no American
rights, but acted according 10 right
and duty as she was obliged 10 act"
Socialist Questions Wisdom.
In an article in the "Norwarts.
Fduard Bernstein, socialist ana eX-
member of the Reichstag, protests
against repriSals which 90 beyond the
conduct Of warfare in the usual sense
OF the word.
"The sinking Of the Lusitanis. com
ing as q climax to former incidents Of
q similar nature, together with the
badly advised comments on these lnci-
dents in German newspapers, resulted
in excuses against Germans IN Eng
land and the colonies, as well as in
the United States" Herr Bernstein
writes. These excuses are regretta-
bic. because they are directed against
persons not responsible for what has
been done. They are also regrettable
from a political viewpoint, because
they form another step on the Ominous
path which leads TO nothing else than
multiDlication Of the already deep
wounds which the war causes.
advocates OF reprisals will find It
extraordinarily difficult TO point 70 a
single case where wars between CIV
ilized peoples have been won by such
methods. The voices We hear from
other countries which hitherto have
been outside the war territory leave
us In no doubt that IN the measure III
which one or the other side among the
belligerents outdoes the other in re
prisals. that side wins for itself the
stronger opposition Of those countries.
Reprisals Do Not Intlmidate.
Among the peoples against which
reprisals are employed most strongly,
however. their effect is not deterrent
but inclines them to war to the utter
most"
The "Tageszeitung" says: THE
United States makes the brusque de-
mand that Germany abandon subma
rine war against Great Britain. The
United States disregards with complete
disdain the German war zone declara-
ton communicated to Washington on
February 4, and later, in the course Of
the exchange Of notes. disapproves as
surprising irregularity' the German
Embassy's warning in the press, and
permits itself to impute TO the German
government as an excuse the probable
ity that German submarine command
ers acted contrary TO orders.
Sounds Like Asquith Speech.
whoever reads this note without
prejudice can scarcely escape the i'm
preston that the British Ambassador
At Washington was not far away when
it was framed One could equally as
well imagine rs contents 10 be speech
by Premier Asquith in the House OF
Commons"