Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-03-08
TEXT OF GERMAN MEMORANDUM

| wishes of the American government
| regarding the use of her submarines.
| The rights of neutrals regarding legal
trading were in fact nowhere limited
by Germany.
Then England made it Impossible
for submarines to conform with the old
rules of international law by arming
nearly all merchantmen and by order
ing the use of guns on merchant YES
sells for attack Photographic repro
auctions of those instructions have
been transmitted to neutral govern
German government of Feb. s, 1916.
These orders are obviously in contra
diction with the note delivered by the
! British ambassador in Washington to
the American government on Oct. 25,
1914. On account of the proposal made
! by the United States on Jan. %, 1916,
regarding disarmament, the imperial
government hoped that these facts
would enable the neutral governments
to obtain the disarmament of the
merchant ships of her opponents. The
| latter, however, continued with great
energy to arm their merchantmen with
guns.
The principle of the United States
government not to keep their citizens
off belligerent merchant ships, has
been used by Great Britain and her
allies to arm merchant ships for Of
fensive purposes. Under these cir
cumstances merchantmen can easily
destroy submarines and If their at
tack fails still consider themselves in
safety by the presence of American
citizens on board.
| Germany is facing the following
/ facts:
| "(a) A blockade contrary to inter
national law Compare American note
to England of Nov 5, 1879 has for one
year been keeping neutral trade from
German ports and is making German
exports impossible.
"(b) For eighteen months through
the extending of contraband provi-
sions in violation of international law
compare American note to England
of Nov. 5, 1879 the overseas trade of
neighboring neutral countries, so far
as Germany is concerned, has been
hampered
"(c) The interrogation of mails in
violation of international law (com-
pare American memorandum to Eng
land of Jan. 10, 1870 is meant to
stop any intercourse of Germany with
foreign countries.
I'D England by Systematically and
increasingly depressing neutral coun-
tries, following the principle of might
before right has prevented neutral
trade on land with Germany so as to
complete the blockade Of the central
powers intended to starve their civil
population.
tel Germans met by our enemies
on the high seas are deprived of their
liberty no matter whether they are
combatants or non-combatants.
! IN Our enemies have armed theil
]
poses theoretically making it impos
sible to use our U boats according tt
the principles set forth in the Londor
, declaration Compare with American
, memorandum of Feb. s, 1916.
:. The English White Book of Jan
;, D, 1916, on the restriction of German
trade, boasts that by British measures
Germany's export trade has been stop
!, ped almost entirely whilst her import
are subject to England's will.
4 The imperial government feel
confident that the people of the Uni
g ted States, remembering the friendl,
= relations that for the last hundre,
:, years have existed between the tw,
. nations, will, in spite of the Difficult
ties put into the way by our enemie
= appreciate the German viewpoint a
- laid down above"