Bisbee daily review., 1916-05-05
TENSION IS GREAT
(Continued from page D


 dispatch was sent the governments of neutral powers.
 President Wilson and Secretary Lansing prepared to remain up latc | tonight to see the uno2s cial text of the reply carried ins press dispatches, but abandoned the idea when it be- came known that the dispatch would not be available until morning. \ special corps of operators was kpet on at the State department to re ceive the official text.
 The German memorandum of Febru- ary $ referred to in the above dis patch was addressed to the neutral nations and declared that after Febru- ary 29 Germany would consider all armed merchantmen belonging tJ countries at war with Germany as warships and that such vessels would be treated accordingly and sunk with out warning.
 1 It charges that before the outbreak of the war the British government had given British shipping companies instructions to arm merchantmen with guns for protection against dangers, sailing under certain conditions as auxiliary cruisers of other powers The British admiralty. it was added, published in January, 1914, a list showing that 29 steamers of English lines carried stern guns.
 Germany established soon after the outbreak of the war, the memoran- dunn said, that English liners were armed-the steamer La COrrentina having been captured carrying two four-pounder seven-inch stern guns, and a German submarine having been fired upon in the channel by an Eng fish yacht.
 The memorandum said that the British government for it's own mer- chantmen had taken the standpoint that armed merchantmen maintain the charter of peaceful merchantmen, as long as they only carried arma- ment for defensive purposes, but in the case of armed ships under other flags it had adopted the principle that they are to be treated as wsrships.
 The German government" the memorandum continued, has no doubt that merchantmen acquire belligerent character through armins with cannon, no matter whether the guns shall serve only for defense or for attack.
 "It considers every war-lige activi ty of enemy merchantmen as con trary to international law. although it takes into consideration the op- posing views through the fact that it treats the crews of such ships not as pirates, but as belligerents.'
 The memorandum said that num- eious cases had come to the light of German forces in which British mer- chantmea not only offered armed re sistance to German warships, but on their own part, appeared without ado to take them, in which they frequent iy made use of false colors."
 Appendices to the communication purported to be photographic copies of instructions Of the British admiral ty describing the procedure of armed British merchantmen, which were found aboard captured British ships They were alleged to contain precise regulations concerning activity and control Of British crews aboard mer- chantmen.
 Under these instructions" the memorandum said, ''it is rendered clear that armed English merchant men have official permission to trea- cherously attack German submarines everywhere when they come near them; that is Q wage war against them unscrupulously.'
 The manifesto was issued in order, that neutral powers might warn their subjects from further entrustine their persons or property to armed ships of the powers at war with Germany"