Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1916-04-28

6OAiN w. ASG0 GAA0 AN1S 80
of restraints of any kind; and have
delivered their attacks without com
junction against vessels of every ma
tionality and bound upon every sort of
errand.
Neutral Vessels Destroyed.
Vessels of neutral ownership, ever
vessels of neutral ownership bound
from neutral port to neutral port, have
been destroyed along with vessels OF
b~elligerent ownership in constantly in
creasing numbers. Sometimes the
merchantmen attacked has been
warned and summoned to surrender
before being fired upon or t%orpedoed;
sometimes passengers or crews have
been vouchsafed the poor security of
being allowed TO take to the ships
boats before she 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.
What this government foresaw must
happen has happened. Tragedy has
followed tragedy on the seas in such
fashion, with such attendant circum-
stances, as to make it grossly evident
that warfare of such a sort, If warfare
it be, cannot be carried on without the
most palpable violation Of the dictates
alike of right and humanity. What
ever the disposition and intention of
the imperial German government, 1t
has manifestly proved impossible for it
to keep such methods Of attack upon
the commerce of its enemies within
the bounds set by either the reason or
the heart of mankind.
I'm February of the present year the
Imperial German government informed
this government and the other neutral
governments of the world that it had
reason to believe that the government
Of Great Britain had armed all mer-
chant vessels Of British ownership and
had given them secret orders to attack
any submarine of the enemy they
might encounter upon the seas and
that the Imperial German government
felt justified in the circumstances in
treating all armed merchantmen Of
belligerent ownership as auxiliary YES
sells Of war, which it would have the
right to destroy without warning.
The law of nations has long recog-
nized the right of merchantmen to
carry arms for protection, to use them
to repel attack though to use them in
such circumstances at their own risk;
but the Imperial German government
claimed the right to set these under.
standings aside in circumstances
which 1t deemed extraordinary. Even
the terms in which it announced its
purpose thus still further to relax the
restraints it had previously professed
it's willingness and desire to put upon
the operations of its submarines car
ried the plain Implication that at leaFi
vessels which were not armed would
still be exempt from destruction with
out warning and that personal safety
would be accorded their passengers
and crews; but even that limitation
if it was ever practicable to observe
1t, has in fact constituted no check al
all upon the destruction Of ships Of
every sort
again and again the Imperial Ger
man government has given this gov
eminent It's solemn assurances that a.
least passenger ships would not DC
thus dealt with, and yet 1t has AGAR
and again permitted It's undersea com
manders to disregard those assurances
with entire immunity. Great liners like
the Lusitania and The Arabic and mer,
Ferry boats like the Sussex have beer
attacked without a moments warning
sometimes before they had even be
come aware that they were In the pres
ence Of an armed vessel of the enem,
and the lives of noncombanant pas
sengers and crew have been sacrificed
wholesale in a manner which the gov
tIIIltuI vi IuC CHlICu ololCo I'LL
but regard as w&nton and without thu
slightest color Of justification. NJ
limit Of any kind has in fact been Sc
10 the indiscriminate pursuit and de
struction of merchantmen Of all kinds
and Municipalities within the waters
constantly extending in area, wher'
these operations have been carried on
and the roll of Americans who hav'
lost their lives on ships thus attacked
and destroyed has grown month b.
month until thu ominous toll ha'
: mounted into tn. hundreds.
, l.. s.. Government Has Been Patient
Recent events make the conclusion
[ inevitable that it is only n instance
, ever ,hough it be one OF the most e1
) IRENE end distressing instances, o
the spirit and method OF warfar
which the Imperial German govern
ment has mistakenly adopted, an
which from the first exposed that gov
eminent to the reproach OF thrust II
all neutral rights aside in pursuit o
it's immediate objects.
The government Of the Unite
. States has been very patient. At ever
1 stage of this distressing experience G
tragedy after tragedy. in which it
{ own citizens were involved, 1t ha
S sought to be restrained from any e.
IRENE course of action or Of protest b