Daily Kennebec journal., 1916-04-20


ihon'ns nave gone by that the Imperial
government has found it impractica :
ole to put any such restraint upon
.hena as 1t had hoped and promised to
put Again and again the Imperial gov
ernment has given it's solemn assur-
ances to the government Of the United
states that at least passenger ships
would not be thus dealt with and vet
1t has repeatedly permitted it's under
sea commanders to disregard those as
Surances with entire impunity AS re.
Gently as February last it gave notice
that it would regard all armed mer-
chantmen owned by it's enemies as
part of the armed naval forces of its
adVersarles and deal with them as
with men-of-war, thus, at least, by
implication, pledging itself to give
warning to vessels which were not
armed, and to accord security Of life
TO their passengers and crews. but this
limitation their submarine command
ers have recklessly ignored.
Campaign Against NeutraIs
vessels OF neutral ownership, even
vessels of neutral ownership bound from
neutral port to neutral port, have been
ASJS' otOii6 Will ScSSclS VI DclllReF-
ent ownership in constantly increasing
NUMBERS. Sometimes the merchantmen
nave been warned and summoned to sur
render before being fired on or torpedoed
sometimes their passengers and crews
nave been vouchsafed the poor security
OF being allowed to take to the ship
boats before the ship was sent to the bot
tom. But again and again no warning
has been given, no escape even to the
ships boats allowed to those on board.
Great liners like the Lusitania and Arabic
and merchant boats like the Sussex have
been attacked without a moments warn
ing, often before they have ever become
aware than they were in the presence
of an armed ship of the enemy, and the
lives of non-combatants, passengers and
crew have been destroyed wholesale and
IN manner which the government of the
United States can but regard as wanton
and without the slightest color of justifi-
cation. No limit Of any kind has in fact
been set to their indiscriminate pursuit
and destruction of merchantmen of all
kinds and nationalites within the waters
which the imperial government has
chosen to designate as lying within the
seat of war. The roll of Americans who
have lost their lives upon ships thus at
tackled and destroyed has grown month
by month until the ominous toll has
mounted into the hundreds
Americas Patience
''The government of the United States
has been very patient. At every stage
of this distressing experience of tragedy
after tragedy it has sought to be gov
arno6 NV the P,,1
tion of the extraordinary circumstances
of an unprecedented war and to be guild
ed by sentiments of very genuine friend
ship for the people and government of
Germany. 1t has accepted the successive
explanations and assurances of the inn
perial government as, of course, given in
entire sincerity and good faith, and has
hoped, even against hope, that it would
prove to be possible for the imperial gov
ernment so to order and control the acts
of its naval commanders as to square its
policy with the recognized principles of
humanity as embodied in the law of ma
tions. 1t has made every allowance for
unprecedented conditions and has been
willing to wait until the fact becomes ur,-
mistakable. and were susceptible of only
one Interpretation.
1T now owes it to its own rights to
say to the Imperial government that
that time has come. 1t has become
painfully evident to it that the posi-
tlon which it took at the very outset
is inevitable, namely, the use of sub
marines for the destruction of an enc
mys commerce is Of necessity because
OF the very character of the vessels
q n ho
tacks which their employment of
course involves. utterly incompatible.
with the principles of humanity. the
long established and incontroyertible
rights of neutrals and the sacred i'm
munities of non combatants.
III it is still the purpose of the I'M
perlal government to prosecute relent-
less and lndescriminete warfare against
vessels of commerce by the use of sub
marines without regard to what the
government of the United States must
consider the sacred and indisputab1e
rules of international law and the uni
versaily recognized dictates of human
ity, the government of the United
States is at last forced to the conclu-
sion that there is but one course if can
pursue. Unless the Imperial govern
ment should now Immediately declare
and effect an abandonment of its pres
ent methods of submarine warfare
against passenger and freight carrying
vessels, the government of the United
states can have no choice but to sever
diplomatic relations with the German
Tmplre altogether. This action the
oc.,f 80
templates with the greatest reluctance,
out feels constrained to take in be-
halr OF humanity and the rights of
neutral nations.
THE APPENDIX TO NOTE
FACTS I'M cIrccrv rAcr