The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-16
GERMANY DECLINES
 OFFER OF ENGLAND
 IN BARALONG CASE
(COntinued from Page One)

circumstances to draw the conclusion that the steamer was attempting to ram his craft. He, therefore, believed himself to be acting in justifiabie self defense wten he attacked the ship. "The second case mentioned-the at tack of a German destroyer upon a British submarine - occurred in this manner: A fight developed in those waters between two warships in which the submarine defended itself by gun fire. The British government can have little ground for advancing the charge that Danish neutrality was violated by the German attack in view of the fact that British naval forces in a series of cases attacked German ships in neu- tral waters.
 "Finally, in the case of the destruc- ton of the British steamer Ruel, the German submarine merely applied measures of reprisal announced by Ger 1 many in February, 1915. These meas ures are in harmony with internation- | al law, because England is endeavoring by illegal means to tie up the legiti- mate maritime commerce between Ger many and neutral countries, to cut off | Germany from all imports and thereby 1 starve the German people. Appropriate reprisals are permissible against meas ! ures in violation of international law. 1 "In all three cases the German naval l forces intended only to destroy hostile l ships and in no way to slay helpless l persons who were attempting to save :, their lives. The assertions to the con- 1 trary of the British government must be Iepudiated with all decisiVenesS as untrue.
 PRO~ ~CSAL REJECTED "The German government is of opin- 1 ion that it must reject as inaccept-
 able the British proposal to submit | these three cases together with the i Baralong case to investigation by a 1 court of American naval officers. It 1 takes the stand that charges against l members of the German forces must ! be investigated by it's own competent
 authorities and that the persons ac- cused be given every surety of an un-
 prejudiced verdict with just punish
 ment where necessary
 | "In the Baralong case it has advanced l to the British government no request other than this, not doubting for a mo- ment that a courtmartial composed of | British naval officers would inflict suit~ b lepunishment for the cowardly and perfidious murder This request was the more justiflable because of tho fact that guilt of the commander and crew of
 l the Baralong was established practi cally beyond doubt by many affidavits
 made by Americans who are neutral
 witnesses, and submitted to the British government
 1 "The manner in which the British
 government has answered the German
 memorandum, does not correspond in
 form. and contents with the gravity oi
 the situation and makes it impossible
 for the German government to nego-
 tiatc further with the British govern
 ment in regard to this matter
 IGNORED DEMANDS
 "The German government therefore
 takes the ground as the final result
 government under empty pretexts, ha;
 left unfultilled the justified demands fo.
 an investigation of the Baralong case and thereby has made itself responsi-
 ble for the crime of defying intcrna-
 tional law and humanity, showing tha 1t desires no longer to observe, in re [ spect to German submarines, one of tho first rules of War-nameiy, to spare
 enemies incapacitated for further ac tiOn--in order to prevent them fro1t conducting warfare at sea in accord
 ance with established internationa law.
 lnasmuch as the British government has declined to make amends for thi outrageous incident the German gov ernment feels itself compelled to talk into it's own hands punishment for thi unatoned crime and to adopt measure or reprisal corresponding with the pro vocation"