Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-02-03
GIVES LEGALITY
OF SUB WARFARE
international Law Expert Gives Opin.
ion in LUsitania Case-Sinking
Justified.

Berlin, Jan. 21.-tCorres pondence of |
The Associated Press. In answer to |
American criticism of submarine war
fare aroused by the Lusitania and An
coma cases, Professor Theodore Me
meyer. international law expert at the
University of kiel has issued a
brochure entitled The Legal Basis of
Submarine War" In it he gives his
reasons for believing, not only that
such warfare is justified but that pas
senger vessels may be torpedoed 81
the -usita,iia and Ancona were with
out any infraction of existing internal
t;onal law.
Submarine warfare per Sc, he argues,
is allowable because it is not forbid
den. Various restrictions placed upon
naval warfare in general by interna
tional conventions, he declares are
null and void because not ratified by
all of the present cOmhatants. The
command of necessity he urges, is
has the right and duty ID do every
thing that serves the wars purpose"
! He quotes article 40 of he London
declaration to show that neutral prizes
may be destroyed if the attacker is in
danger, but that no such condition is
imposed in regard to enemy vessels
The inference therefore to be drawn is
that the attacker needs no such pre-
tense or excuse as danger to justify
him in sinking his opponents ships.
AS regards the rights of passengers,
the writer declares that they are not
touched upon in any international
agreement until the London declara-
ton, which in article 80 says: "Avant
la destruction (of the ship les per-
sonnes qui Sc trouvent bord devront
!etre misses en- surete" Before the de-
struction of the ship the persons who
are on board shall Tor musD be re-
moved to safety
On the word "debront," Professor
INiemeyer lays the greatest stress of his
argument. He declares that the French
have but one word, "devoir" to cover
both must and shall. He elects to
translate devront as shall, maintain
ing that if must" had been meant the
form "doivent" would have been used
On the assumption, therefore, that
article so was intended to read that
passengers shall be placed in safety
he is of the opinion that the words, 'ii
it is possible" are to be interpolated
or read into the paragraph. With the
article in this revised form, as he is
morally convinced it should be, he finds
every phase of submarine warfare
iustifable
Professor Niemeyer opens his brooch
ure with the following forward:
l Ever since North American diplom
acy has sought to impair the gloriou!
deeds of our submarines by their note:
5 and to harm them by internationa
. complications, the anxiety that a STRAIT
e egic advantage will be torn from oul
r hands without opposition has hung
over the German people like a blacl
cloud. We hope however that gu
submarines will not be offered up OF
7 the altar of waste through halfwa.
. measures to suit foreigners. We eX
press our complete confidence in gu
K heroic submarine commanders ant
S crews, with the assurance that tn
S German people without exception
e stand behind them, filled with admira
g ton and gratitude, so long as dro
h of blood still flows, so long as a ham
t draws the sword"
e The writer earnestly disputes tn
:, contention that international law ha
h been smashed to bits in the presen
e war. He maintains rather that it is
S slangily expressed, bent but not brok
: en-. There has not been as large pOr
l. ton of Offenses against it, he says, a
If against criminal law the world over
r After presenting many reasons VIII
the submarine might be considered III
amenable to existing law because it
= new, he declares that this view afte
I all is untenable and insists that til
\ U-boat will have to continue to opel
ate under present statutes until me-
ones are created after the war.
He complains on the one hand thu
! international law as it now stands
] full of holes" and too elastic" BIT
finds in these very facts justifcatio
h for many of the acts of submarines. |
4 support of his contention he quote
many phrases which he terms vagu
\, and which. he says, are construed i
one way by America, in another b
\ England and in still third by Gel
/ many In this connection he takes
l tilt at American Jurisprudence.
| 1T is, l fear, easier for a camel [
| pass through the eye Of needle tina
| for a genuine American really to III
! derstand a German, or even a Dutcl
man or a Norwegian, when one of thel
] insists that, according to the chara
ter of the war and the character of il
| ternational law governing warfare, IL
true inwardness Of the legal basis {
status of war changes
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