Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-04-19

was sent TO tne potSom. 0ue again
and again no warning has been
given; no escape oven to tho ships :
boats allowed to those on board.
What this government foresaw
must happen has happened. Trag-
edy has followed tragedy on the
sea in such fashion with such at
tendant circumstances as make It
grossly evident that warfare Of
such a sort, it warfare<it be, can
not be carried on without the most
palpabie destruction Of the dictates
ever the-disposition and Intentions
Of tho imperial German govern
Z ment il has manifestIy proved I'M
possible for il to keep such meth
ods Of attack upon the commerce
of its enemies within the bounds
set by either the reason or the
heart Of mankind. .s..i4g- se
"ln February Of the present year
thei imperial German government
Informed this government and the
other neutral governments Of the
that the governments of Great Brit
ain had armed all merchant ves-s
sells Of British ownership and had
given them secret orders to attack
any submarines Of the enemy, they
might encounter, and that the inn
perial German government felt JUS
titled in the circumstances Of
treating all merchantmen Of bell
ligerent ownership as auxiliary
ships Of war. xs, ID
"The law Of nations has long
recognized the right Of merchant
men to carry arms for protection
and to use them to repei attacks,
tho to use them in such circum-
stances at their own risk; but
tho imperial German government
claimed the right to set these un-~
derstandings aside under circum.
stances which it deemed yextraor-
1dinary. Even the terms. in which II
announced it's purpose to further
relax the restraints it previously
had protested its Willingness to put
upon its submarines, carried the
plain implication that vessels not
armed still would be exempt from
destruction without warning and
that personal safety would be ac-
corded their passengers and crews,
but even that limitation has, in
fact, constituted no check at all
upon the destruction Of ships Of
every sort. -.g X
"Again and again the imperial
German government has given this
government its solemn assurances
that at least passenger ships would
not thus be dealt with and yet it
has again and again permitted it's
undersea commanders to disregard
those assurances with entire i'm
punity. -
"Great liners like the Lusitania
and Arabic, and moro terry boats
like the Sussex have been attacked
without moments warning some
2 t;n1ss had even been unaware that
they were in the presence of an
armed esseI of the enemy, and
thr lives Of nom combatants anc
crew have been sacrificed whole. y
sale IN r,anner ws,ic! the gov
ernmsnt Of the United, States can
not but regard a. wAnton and
without the slightest color Of justi-
ficatior. M Vt
55; ::No limit Of any kind. in fact,
has been set to the indiscriminate
pursuit and destruction Of nser
chantmen Of all kinds and mas
&ionalitiss within tho waters eon-
stantIy increasing ia area where
these operations have been carried
on, and the roll Of Americans who
have lost their lives on ships thus
attacked and destroyed has grown
month by month until the toll
has mounted into hundreds.
.@ '4Oner Of the latest and most
shocking instances Of this method
8 Of warfare was that Of the destruc-
tiors Of the cross channel steamer
Sussex. IL must stand forth 40 did
the sinking Of the liner Lnsitania
as so singuIarly tragic and ussjusti-
fable 40 TO constitute truly ter
rible example Of the inhunianity Of
submarine warfare as the com
nnanders OF German vessels have
been conducting IL.
nlf this incident stood alone, sorne i
! explanation, some disasossat by the
German government, SONS evidences
IT wilfui disobsdisncs On Tho part