Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-07-31
GREAT BRITAIN BELIEVED TO BE
PREPARED TO ADOPT RE.
TALIToRY ACTION.
EXECUTION HELD WORSE
THAN cAvELL DEATH
Fryatt Honored by Country for e.
fort to Ram German Submarine
Killed by Official Order as Pirate
Holland Aroused-Germany Finds
Excuse for Action. ~.

London, July 31.-What form will
British vengeance take?
Horror and indignation are mild
terms to describe the British state
Of mind at the execution by the Ger
mans of Captain Charles Fryatt Of
the British steamship Brussels. Yep
pelin attacks on London and the exc
cution by the Germans of Miss Edith
Cavell, the British nurs, in Belgium
fade into insignificance beside the
wrath that has been stirred by the
killing, after trial by court martial,
Of this young skipper of a British
merchantmen.
Killed as Pirate.
Great Britain has been touched in
her tenderest spot. One of her mer-
chant captains, the pride of the
British public, has been slain in cold
blood for what the British regard as
doing his duty in the finest possible
manner He had tried to ram Ger
man submarine at time when Ger
man submarines attacked British
ships without warning. And the
charge made against him was that he
was franc tireur-a civilian who
took up arms without legal standing
in the words of the sea, the Germans
killed him as a pirate.
Under the instruction of Viscount
Grey, the foreign secretary. note was
dispatched today to the American en-
bassy requesting that James w. &C.
rard, the American ambassador at
Berlin, obtain complete details Of the
affair.
The first intimatiOn Of the trial of
Captain Fryatt was called to the at
tention Of the foreign office by press
reports on July IS to the effect that
he was to be tried as the result Of
finding on him a watch containing
an inscription reciting his efforts to
ram German submarine \when he
commanded the steamship Wrexham.
Gerard Asked to Aid.
When the news that Captain Fryatt
was to be tried was received the for
eign office Immediately sent a note to
the American ambassador Walter II.
Page. requesting that American dip
lomatic representatives take all nee
essary steps to provide for his de-
Tense, calling attention to the fact
that the WreXham's act in steering
toward the submarine and forcing it
to dive was essentially defensive and
precisely the same as if it had used
the defensive arm which the United
States and Great Britain hold to ibe
an undoubted right.
No reply was received from Am
bassador Gerard, but the foreign Of
flee is convinced that he acted with
his usual promptitude. Therefore, it
is their theory that the trial and exc
cution of Captain Fryatt was hurried
even more than in the case OF Miss
Edith Cavell.
Baron Newton's View.
Baron Newton. under secretary for
foreign affairs, said today:
ION the face Of the details of the
report as received by us. the, execu-
ton Of Captain F'ryatt seems to be
worse than the Cavell case. 1t is an
extremely grave incident the i'm
portance of which it would be difficult
to eXaggerate. 1t must be borne in
mind that when the alleged ramming
took place the German submarines
were attacking merchant ships with
out any warning whatever"
German Regulations.
The Captain F'ryatt case calls at
tention to the German prize regula-
tons, which provide that under cir
eumstances similar to the capture Of
the Brussels, merchantmen are to he
treated as prisoners of war. An ap-
pendix to those regulations issued
June %, 1914, reads:
III an armed enemy merchant YES
sci offers armed resistance to the
right Of visit and search and cap
ture, this is to be broken down by all
possible means. The enemy gov
eminent is responsible for any dam
age thereby caused to the ship, It's
cargo and passengers. The members
Of the crew are to be treated as pris-
oners Of war. Passengers are to be
liberated unless 1t is proved they
have taken part in the resistance. In
the latter case they are to be pro-
ceeded against in accordance with
the extra ordinary martial law pro-
cedure"
The German official account re-
ceived here Of the execution Of Cap
tain Fryatt, concludes with these
words:
"One Of the many franctireur ac-
tions of English merchant shipping
against our war vessels has thus
found late but merited expiation."
Holland Aroused.
The execution of Captain Fryatt
has caused great indignation through
out Holland, says a Reuter- dispatch
from Amsterdam. and it is generally
compared with the execution Of Miss
Edith Cavell.
The Amsterdam TELEGRAPH says:
"The execution causes no surprise,
but excites horror and indignation at
crime which Is as mean as the
shooting of the brave English nurse.
1t is a burning shame, which calls for
vengeance"
WAR EXPORTS FOR YEAR.