The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-12-04
Complications with Germany.

Berlin's wireless message to America,
BY way of Sayville, is practically an Of
fficial notice to the government and peo-
pie of the United States that we must
expect q serious disagreement with Ger
many if we continue to protest against
submarine attacks without warning, and
In a manner to sacrifice the lives of non
rombatants, on merchant ships. In the
recent new and relentless submarine war
fare, there have occurred at least ten
rases with regard to which the United
States government has made inquiries of
The German government, these inquiries
amounting to this: "You said you would
not attack merchantmen without warn
Ing and without giving opportunity for
the escape of combatants; in these
cases you seem to have done so; what
Is your explanation of this actionf' One
after another these inquiries have been
sent to Berlin. The ma jority of them
have not been answered at all, and it is
evident from this Sayville dispatch that
The German government is beginning to
become irritated at the wearisome repe-
kition of questionings which, in view OF
their proved uselessness, it cannot but
regard as impertinent. Hence the pas
sage by the German imperial censor of a
dispatch from Berlin stating that "a pc
riod of complications may again be inn
pending in German American relations"
The interest OF the American people in
these incessant inquiries which never
come to anything had grown languid.
Public sentiment had evidently come to
regard the whole series of negotiations
rs but a form of diplomatic hair-split
ting, necessary to the intellectual activ-
tiles or the peace of mind of ministers
and secretaries of state. But this Motif
cation from Berlin, as threatening com
plcations, may arouse new interest IN
the subject 1t will lead the people to
ask, first, what the pledges were which
are said to have been violated. What
has Germany promised in this matter?
The pledge in the case is contained in
the note of Count Won Jagow, then Ger
man secretary of state for foreign affairs,
In his note to Ambassador Gerard of
MAY 4. 1916, in which he gave the as
surance that the German government
"is prepared to do its utmost to contine
the operations of the war for the rest
Of its duration to the fighting forces OF
the belligerents," and in which he also
promised: "In accordance with the gen
eral principles of visit and search and de-
struction of merchant vessels recognized
by international law, such vessels, both
within and without the area declared as
naval war zone, shall not be sunk with
out warning and without saving human
lives, unless these ships attempt to es-
cape or offer resistance" The pledge to
h. nf n Ia tiuhf F.
ing forces would have seemed, quite nat
orally, to guarantee Merchantmen vessels
against unwarned destruction; but the
qualification unless those ships attempt
to escape or offer resistance" let in at
once the plea which the German gov
eminent has made in practically every
case but one, that the vessels which
have been destroyed right and left with
large loss of life of non combatants, in
Guiding number of Americans, were at
tempting to escape or were Offering re-
sistance; and now we have the claim on
the part of the German government.
against our own governments CON
tention. that even the presence
OF gun on the deck of a merchant
man is in itself and automatically an
'act of resistance" At all events this
large accumulation of eases-so large
that the German government is very
much irritated over it's presumptive
proof that not even by 'its utmost can
The German government confine its sub
marine operations to the fighting forces.
In other words though there was for
time a considerable cessation from UNI
warned attacks on merchantmen, we
have now the indicatio of repeated-at
least ten times repeated-attacks that
there is absolutely no case, outside OF
vessels actually belonging to the Amer
lean marine in which an excuse for UNI
warned destruction cannot be found by
the German government. And in effect
Berlin asks Washington, what are you
going to do about it,
Judging by what has taken place,
nothing much will be done about it. Up
to this time there has always been the
safety valve of new note, when Wash
ington felt the violation of Won Jagcw's
note of May 4, 1916, to have become
acute. But now, if we accept the gen
tie intimation contained in this Sayville
message, even that means of relief is to
r. - Trapscripf