Middletown transcript., 1916-10-14
klIIrn IllA1NEn
HLLI[1 WHIlIvLU
BY UNITED STATES.
Government Will Not Bar
U-BOats.
TO DECIDE COURSE ITSELF
Apparent Threat EIicits RebuI0e.
Entente Reminded This Country
Was First 70 Maintain
Neutrality.
TO DECIDE COURSE ITSELF

Washington. - The memorandum
handed by the United States Govern
ment to the Allied powers in response
to their memorandum asking this cOun-
try to exclude German submarines
from American ports follows:
"The government of the United
States has received the identic memo
randa of the governments of France
Great Britain, Russia and Japan In
which neutral governments are eX-
horted to take eficacious measures
tending to prevent belligerent sub
marines, regardless of their use. 70
avail themselves of neutral waters
roadsteads and harbors."
These governments point out the
facilities possessed by such craft to
avoid supervision or surveillance or de-
termination of their national charac~
ter and their power "to do injury that
is inherent in their, very nature" as
we'll as the additional facilities" af-
forded by having at their disposal
places where they can rest and re-
PUBLISH LuClI ouppI46os GAppdA OA
these grounds, the Allied governments
hold that submarine vessels must be
excluded from the benefit Of the rules
heretofore accepted under internatiOn-
al law regarding the admission ana
sojourn Of war and merchant vessels
in neutral waters, roadsteads or har-
bors; any submarine of belligerent
that once enters neutral harbOr must
be held there" and, therefore, tho
Allied governments warn neutral
powers of the great danger to neutral
submarines attending the navigation
of waters visited by the submarines Of
belligerents."
In reply the government Of the
United States must express its sur
| prise that there appears to be an en-
deavor of the Allied powers to deter
mine the rule of action governing what
they ergard as novel situation" in
respect to the use of submarines in
time of war and to enforce acceptance
of that RUE, at least in part, by warn
ing neutral powers of the great danger
to their submarines in waters that
may be visited by belligerent sub
marines.
In the opinion of the government Of
the United States the Allied powers
have not set forth any circumstances.
nor is the government of the United
States at preesnt aware of any circum-
stances, concerning the uses of war or
| merchant submarines which would
render the existing rules OF interna-
tioral law inapplicable to them.
In view fthis fact and of the notice
and warning of the Allied Powers an
nounced in their memoranda under
acknowledgment it is incumbent upon
the government of the United States to
notify the governments of France,
Great Britain, Russia and Japan that,
so far as the treatment in either war
or merchant submarines in American
waters is concerned, the government
of the United States reserves its lib
erty of action in all respects and will
treat such vessels as in it's opinion be-
comes the action Of a power which
may be said to have taken the first
steps toward establishing the prin-
ciples of neutrality and which for over
a century has maintained those prin-
ciples in the traditional spirit and with
the high sense of impartiality in which
they were conceived.
In order, however, that there should
Re no misunderstanding as to the atti-
tude of the United States, the govern
ment of the United States announces
to the Allied powers that it holds it to
be the duty of belligerent powers to
distinguish between submarines OF
neutral and belli0erent nationality,
and that responsibility for any c1n-
flict that may arise between belliger-
ert warships and neutral submarines
on account Of the neglect Of belliger-
ent to so distinguish between these
classes of submarines must rest en-
tirely upon the negligent power.