The Alaska daily empire., 1916-10-09
Scores of Ships Sunk and American Lives lmperiled in the \
 Attacks
SUNK WITHOUT WARNING
No Doubt Exists That Crimes Against the United States Have
 Been Committed

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 the State Department revealed the startling fact today that submarines of the Central Powers sank total of 126 merchant ships, including for ty-two merchant ships Of neutral nationality in the period from July l4 to September 20.
 Submarine warfare has shown an alarming increase within the last two weeks, these reports prove. In the thirty day period from August 10 to September 20 the loss of bel ligerent merchant ships from sub marine attacks averaged one day while the loss of neutral ships have become almost as great Twenty four neutral merchant ships were sunk by submarines in the last thir- ty day period of the official reports.
 Scarcely two months after the ad. ministration scored its settlement with Berlin in the Sussex case sub- marine warfare. these official re- ports show, began to the resumed. At first the operations were restrict ed and the victims of the U-boats were few and unimportant. But with each week that passed tfc number of merchant ships destroyed were Increased. And not only do these reports show that the opera tions Of the submarines became more extended, but their methods of a. tack became more ruthless
 Dividing the period covered by the official reports into three parts, it was found that five neutral vessels were reported sunk by submarines in the first period thirteen in the second and twenty-four in the third. The size of vessels attacked has ai- so been increased, the losses first reported being confined to small craft and later increasing to vessels the size of the Letimbro.
 Press dispatches have reported but a few of these losses-t those in which the circumstances of the at- tack directly suggested information al complications.
 But this alarming record is viewed by many officials here in the light of the expressed conviction or Pres idcnt Wilson that it has become a demonstrated .mp1s DiIily' for submarue1 Co c0rtinuc warfare against merchant ahips without an inevitable violation Of Che sacred rgh;s Of humanity.
 "Thc use of submarines for the destruction Of an encmys commerce. sail the President "is of necessity, because of the very character of the vessels employed and the very meth. ods or attack which they employ ment ci course, involves, incom- patlblc with Che principles of human ity tho long established and incon- yertible right of neutrais and the sacred immunities Of non-combat. ants"
 American Lives lmperied
 Already. in these recorded at- .acks, tho lives of American citi- zens have been menaced, anl the State Department now has under in- vestigation cases in which the at tacks were reported as committed without warning and in violation of law.
 In siNty-fiye instances, in the per iod here under review merchant ships were sunk without any eyi- lenco being obtainable as to the cause of the attack lt is not doubt cd that these cases represent those !n which the submarines have yio- lated the law though without de- tection. The obtaining of legal evil dence in such cases is extremely difficult and it is this fact, and in all probability this fact alone, which is saving .he United States from crisis in its relations with Berlin. Any day, it is admitted, may develop a case in which the damning evil dence will not down.
 It is only the absence of Ameri- can ships in the war zone which can explain escape from a direct issue over that score. It was close call in the case of the Owego. shered by submarine, and the ships of practically every neutral European nation are included in the list Of those sunk by submarines. Since August 10 the official reports show losses of the following neutral vessels:
 Norwegion. eleven; Spanish, four; Danish, three: Swedish three; Greek two: and Dutch. one.
 Under the rules of international law such neutral ships may only be sunk when they have on board more than fifty per cent of contraband and then only when it isl impossible for the belligerent 10 take the vessel into port and after all of the persons aboard merchantmen are transferred to a place of safe ty." The Prussians are still regard ing small boats on the high seas as a place of safety Whether they have proved safe. whether there has been a loss of neutral life, is still