The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-19
EACTS AROTTT SIIRMARINE

AO1O U
 with regard to the destruction of the British submarine E-13 in Danish waters by a German torpedo boat destroyer, it is claimed that it came to a fight between the war vessels and that the submarine defended itself with gunfire. The true facts are as follows:
 .'The Germans found the submarine stranded in neutral waters and incapable of either offense or defense. The German destroyer fired a torpedo at the E-13. The torpedo exploded close to her. At the same moment the German destroyer fired with all her guns and the commander of the E-13, whose submarine was afire fore and aft and who was able to defend himself owing to being aground, gave or ders to the crew to abandon her. While the men were in the water they were fired on by machine guns and with shrap- nel
 '.The Germans defend their action in the case of the Ruel on the ground that it was a measure of reprisal in accordance with mea sures announced by the German government in February, 1915. It is claimed that these reprisalS are legitimate owing to the action of Great Britain in attempting to cut off from Germany all imports and starve the German people. The Germans thus maintain their subma- rine policy in consequence of the British measures dSdluSl IcIIIidH lldOcs
 'Ths is, of course. quite untrue, the ex- act opposite being the case.' As far back as December, 1914, Admiral Won Tirpitz foreshadowed the submarine blockade of Great Britain and submarine attacks were made on merchant ship and hospital ship on January 90 and February 1 re- spectively. Moreover, as far back as Sep- tember, 1914. a Dutch ship, with cargo of grain for Dublin and Belfast, was ,1r (o,er rIn and t1o or, ship w. P. Frye similarly was sunk on January 2S.
 NOT REPRISAL MEASURE
 Further, on February 4. the German government declared thei rintention of in- stituting a general submarine blockade of Great Britain and Ireland with the avowed purpose of cutting off all supplies from these islands and this blockade was put into effect on February IS.
 ''It was only on March il that the Brit ish government put into force as means of reprisals measures against German trade which the German government now try to maintain were the cause of their submarine policy.
 "The Germans maintain that in the cases of the Arabic. the E-13 and the Rue] they were only aiming at the destruction of hostile ships and in nowise the destruc- tion of helpless persons. The death roll of the Arabic, the shelling of British sail ors as they were swimming ashore after abandoning the E-13, and the firing on the crew of the Ruel who were attempting to save themselves in the boats sufficiently answers this claim. s' With regard to the German refusal to submit the Baralong case and the three cases put forward by the British govern ment for investigation by an impartial neutral tribunal, this action seems hard to explain if the Germans are really so convinced as they say of the guilt of the l British commander and the innocence of the perpetrators of the three outrages cited by the British government
 ''So far as Great Britain is concerned | it is entirely untrue to state that the British government have left thrilled a just demand for investigation. They have proposed it and it is the Germans who have rejected it, doubtless because they know full well that the cases in which
 they are defendants would be decided against them by all impartial tribunal"