The midland journal., 1916-04-28

In pursuance Of the policy Of sub
marine warfare against the commerce
Of its adversaries, thus announced and
entered upon by the Imperial German
Government in desuite of the solemn
protest OF this government, the COM
mander of German undersea vessels
have attacked merchant ships with
greater and greater activity. not only
upon the high seas surrounding Great
Britain and Ireland, but wherever thqy
could encounter them, in way that
/ has grown more and more ruthless,
more and more discriminate as the
months have gone by. less and less
observant of restraints of any kind;
and have delivered their attacks with
iout compuncticn against vessels of
every nationality and bound upon
every sort of errand.
| Sank Neutral Ships.
Even vessels of neutral ownership
bound from neutral port to neutral
port, have ben destroyed along with
vessels of belligerent ownership in
constantly increasing numbers. Some
times the merchantmen attacked has
been warned and summoned to surren-
der before being fred on or torpedoed,
sometimes passengers or crews have
been couchsafed the poor security of be-
ing allowed to take to the ships boats
before she was sent to the bottom. But
again and again no warning has been
given, no escape even to the ships
boats allowed to those on board. What
this government foresaw must happen
has happened.
Tragedy followed tragedy on the
seas in such fashion, with such attend
ant circumstances as to make it gross
1 ly evident that warfare of such sort,
IL warfare it be, cannot be carried on
without the most palpable violation
Of the dictates alike of right and OF
humanity. Whatever the disposition
and intention of the imperial govern
ment. it has manifestly proved impos-
sible for it to keep such methods OF
attack upon the commerce of its
enemies within the bounds set by
either the reason or the heart of man
kind
| I'm February Of the present year the
Imperial German Government inform
ed this government and the other neC-
tral governments of the world that it
had reason to believe that the govern
mont of Great Britain had armed all
merchant vessels Of British ownership
and had given them secret orders to
attack any submarine of the enemy
they might encounter upon the seas,
and that the Imperial German Govern
ment felt justified in the circumstances
in treating all armed merchantmen Of
belligerent ownership as auxiliary yes
sells of war, which it would have the
right to destroy without warning.
| Stand on Armed Ships.
I "The law of nations has long rec
ognized the right of merchantmen to
carry arms for protection and to use
them to repel attack, though to use
| them in such circumstances at their
own risk; but the Imperial German
Government claimed the right to set
| these understanding aside in circum-
stances which 1t deemed extraordinary.
Even the terms in which it announced
| it's purpose thus still further to relax
1.-THE restraints 1t had previously pro
fessed its willingness and desire to put
upon the operations Of its submarines
carried the plain implication that at
least vessels which were not armed
would still be exempt from destruction
without warning and that personal safe
ty would be accorded their passengers
and crews; but even that limitation,
If 1t was ever practicable to observe
it, has in fact constituted no check at
all upon the destruction of ships of
every sort.
Again and again the Imperial Ger
man Government has given this gov
ernment its solemn assurances that at
least passenger ships would not be
thus dealt with. and yet 1t has again
and again permitted its undersea COM
manders to disregard those assurances
with entire impunity. Great liners
Hike the Lusitania and the Arabic and
mere ferryboats like the Sussex have
been attacked without moments
warning, sometimes before they had
even become aware that they were in
the presence Of an armed vessel Of the
emmy, and the lives Of non-combatants,
passengers and crew, have been sacri-
feed wholesale in manner which the
government Of the United States can
not but regard as wanton and without
the slightest color of justification. No
limit of any kind has, in fact. been set
to the indiscriminate pursuit and de-
struction OF merchantmen of all kinds
and nationalities within the waters,
constantly extending in area, where
these operations have been carried on;
and the roll OF Americans who have
lost their lives on ships thus attacked