The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-06-11

You are instructed to deliver textually
the following note to the minister of for \
eign affairs:
In compliance with your excellency's
| did not fail to transmit to my
government, Immediately upon their re
ceipt, your note of May % in reply to
my note of May 10, and your supplement
tary note of June /, setting forth the con-
illusions, so far as reached, by the impe- |
rial government concerning the attacks on |
the American steamers Gushing and Gulf |
light | am now instructed by my govern |
ment to communicate the following in |
reply:
The government of the United States |
notes with qualification the full recogni-
ton by the Imperial German government, |
in discussing the cases of the Gushing and
the Gulfight, of the principle of the free
dom of all parts of the open sea to neutral
ships, and the frank willingness of the
Imperial German government to acknowl-
edge and meet its liability where the fact
of attack upon neutral "ships which have
not been guilty of any hostile act" by Ger
man air craft or vessels of war is salts
factorily established, and the government
of the United States will in due course
lay before the Imperial German govern
ment, as it requests, full information con-
| corning the attack on the steamer Cush-
ing.
With regard to the sinking of the
| stemaer Falaba by which an American
citizen lost his life, the government of the
United States is surprised to find the I'm
1 perial German government contending
that an effort on the part of a merchant
man to escape capture and secure assist
ance alters the obligation of the officer
seeking to make the capture in respect of
the safety of the lives of those on board
the merchantmen, although the vessel has
ceased her attempt to escape when tor
lpedoed. These are not new circumstances.
They have been in the minds of statesmen
and of international jurists throughout
the development of naval warfare, and the
government of the United States does not
understand that they have ever been held
: to alter the principles of humanity upon
which it has insisted. Nothing but actual
. forcible resistance or continued efforts to
escape by flight when ordered to stop for
the purpose of visit, on the part of the
, merchantmen, has ever been held to for
I felt the lives of her passengers or crew
: The government of the United States
however, does not understand that the
Imperial German government Is seeking
: in, this case to relieve itself of liability
i but only intends to set forth the circum
r stances which led the commander of the
;, submarine to allow himself to be hurried
! into the course which he took.
f Your eNcellency's note, in discussing tn.
: loss of American lives resulting from thu
: sinking of the steamship Lusitania, advert
9 at some length to certain information
q which the Imperial German government
! t-has received with regard to the charactc
I and outfit of that vessel, and your excel
: lency expresses the fear that this infor
; nation may not have been brought to tn
p attention Of the United States It'll
4 stated that the Lusitania was undoubtedl
j. equipped with masked guns, supplied wit
E trained gunners and special ammunition
: transporting troops from Canada, carry
ing a cargo not permitted under the law
8 of the United States to a vessel also carry
a ing passengers, and serving, in virtual e
y feet, as an auxiliary to the naval forces
Great Britain.
Fortunately these are matters concern
- ing which the government of the Unite
n States is IN a position to give the Imp
rial German government official informs
ton. OF the facts alleged in your excelel
cy's note, if true, the government of ii
United States would have been bound
nv take official cOgniZance in performing i
as recognized duty as a neutral power and
ad duty to see to it that the Lusitania WI
rs not armed for offensive action, that 81
ie was not serving as a transport, that 81
ls did not carry a cargo prohibited by Il
&c statutes of the United States, and tina
m if in fact she was a naval vessel of Gre
Britain she should not receive clearan
as a merchantman; and it performed tn
Y duty and enforced its statutes with scru
alous vigilance through its regularly co
stituted officials. 1t is able, therefore,
assure the Imperial German governme
a that it has been misinformed. If the Il
- perial government should deem itself
be in possession of convincing eviden
Nthat the officials of the government of t
Ter United States did not perform these duti
ak with thoroughness, the government of t
err United States sincerely hopes that it W
submit that evidence for consideration
-, Whatever may be the contentious
- the Imperial German government regal
"a ing the carriage of contraband of war
board the Lusitania, or regarding the {
plosion of that material by the torpet
re it need only be said that in the view
IL. this government these contentious
irrelevant to the question of the legal
of the methods used by the German ma
oe' authorities in sinking the vessel
But the sinking of passenger ships
nup wolves principles of humanity which thr
- into the background any special circu
stances of detail that may be thought
affect the cases; principles which lift
as as the Imperial German government v
eV no doubt be quick to recognize a
ept acknowledge, out of the class of ordin;
hu subjects of diplomatic discussion or
ms :, international controversy. Whatever
% the other facts regarding the Lusitar
Ai0' the principal fact is that great steam
primarily and chiefly a conveyance
- passengers, and carrying more than
q thousand souls who had no part or lot
the conduct of the war, was torped
and sunk without so much as challel
or warning, and that men, women,
children were sent to their death in
cumstances unparalleled in modern "
G fare. The fact that more than 100 Am
na,a citizarS thnsa -hn 7