The Detroit times., 1916-04-20
Wilson j ellis Congress u. S.
Must Force Issue With Berlin

~
ain had armed all merchant vessels
OF British owner hip 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 ell armed merchantmen
Of belligerent ownership rs auxiliary
vessels OF war. which II would have
the right to destroy without warn
Ing The law o. nations has long
recognized the right OF merchant
men 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 understandings
aside In circumstances which II
deemed extraordinary. Even the
terms In which II announced It's
purpose thus still further to relax
the restraints It had previously pro-
fessed its willingness and desire to
put upon the operations of Its sub
marines carried the plain implica-
fion that at least vessels which
were not armed would still be sx-
empt from destruction without
warning and that personal safety
would be accorded their passengers
and crews but even that limitation
II II was ever practicable to observe
1t. has In fact constituted no check
at all upon the destruction OF ships
OF every sort"
Again and again the imperial
German government has given this
government It's solemn assurances
that at least passenger ships would
not be thus dealt with, and yet II
has again and again permitted It's
undersea commanders TO disregard
those assurances with entire impun.
ity. Great liners like the LusitAnia
and the Arabic and mere ferryboats
like the Sussex have been attacked
without a moments warning. some
times before they had even become
aware that they were in the pres.
cnce Of an armed vessel OF the en-.
emy and tine lives OF non.combat.
ants, passengers and crew, have
been sacrificed wholesale. In a man
ner which the government OF the
United States cannot but regard AS
wanton and without the slightest
color or justification. No limit of
any kind has In fact been set to
the indiscriminate pursuit and de-
struction OF merchantmen of all
kinds and nationalities within the
waters, constantly extending In
area, where those operations have
been carried on; and the roll Of
Americans who nave lost their lives
on ships thus attacked and de-
stroyed has grown month by month
until the ominous toll has mounted
into the hundreds"
Before the president made his
speech to congress, a note embody-
ing the position set forth In his al.
dress was placed on the cables for
transmission to the German gov
ernment.
"One of the latest and most shock.
ing instances of this method OF war
fare was that OF the destruction Of
the French cross channel steamer
Sussex. II must stand forth as the
sinking of the steamer Lusitania
did. as so sineularly tragical and
unjustiiable as TO constitute truly
terrible example OF the inhumanity
OF submarine warfare as the com
mandcrs OF German vessels have for
the past IL months been conducting
IL. II this instance stood alone some
explanation, some disavowal by the
German government, some evidence
of criminal mistake or wiIful dis
on the part Of the COM
mander OF the vessel that fred the
torpedo might be sought or enter
tanned; hut unhappily 1t does not
stand alone. Recent events make
the conclusion inevitable that II is
only one instance. even though II
be one OF the most extreme and dis
tire ssing instances. Of the spirit and
method of warfare which the I'm
pcrial German government has mis-
takenly adopted, and which from the
Arst exposed that government to the
reproach OF thrusting all neutral
rights aside in pursuit Of its imme-
diate objects.