The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-18
SECRET ORDERS URGED
WAR ON TEUTON SUBS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

and merchant vessels without warning
and that consequently the only hope for
safety lay In destroying enemy. suoma-
rines, II possible. whenever they made
their appearance. 1t Is said that subse-
quently the British admiralty modified
these orders and that they are not In ef-
feet today.
| The following are the most Significant
Of the alleged secret orders which in
struct British sailing masters to open fire
on enemy submarines without waiting to
be attacked:
Found on the English steamer Wood
| field:
''Confidential-No. IS. In no circum-
stances is this paper to be allowed to
fall into the hands of the enemy
This paper is for the masters per
sonal Information. 1t is not to be copied.
and when not actually in use 1t is to be
kept In safety in a place where IT can
be destroyed at a moments notice. such
portions as call for immediate action
may be communicated verbally TO the
officers concerned 25th February. 1915.
instructions regarding submarines ap-
plicable to vessels carrying defensive
Armament:
'1.-Defensively armed vessels should
follow generally the instructions for Or
binary merchant ships.
be kept in instant readiness.
'3-1f a submarine is obviously pursuing
a ship by day and II is evident 10 the
master that she has hostile intentions,
the ship pursued should open fire in self
defense, notwithstanding the submarine
may not have committed a definite hos
tile act, such as firing gun or torpedo
- In view of the great difficulty In dis
| tinguishing a friend from an enemy at
fire. sh he 0Dened after
dark unless 1t is absolutely certain that
the vessel fired at is hostile.
80. Before opening fire the British colors
| should be hoisted.
TT is essential that fire should not be
opened under neutral colors''
Orders Found on Linkmoor.
Found on the English steamer Link
Admiral Superintendent Offfcer.
Malta, June. 1915, instructions to British
merchant vessels passing through the
Mediterranean Sea:
1T is now certain that there are
enemy submarines at sea in the Mediter-
ranean. In order to avoid attack you
are to keep out of the track of shipping.
You are to darken ship at night. and are
not to show navigation lights except at
discretion. to avoid collision. and all
lights are to be extinguished when neces-
sity is passed. You are to carry out the
procedure recommended by the admiralty
in their printed instructions II hostile
submarine is sighted"
These secret orders" are among the
appendices to the following memoran-
dunn which the German government has
addressed to the United States:
Even before the outbreak of the pres
ent war the British government had
given English shipping companies the OPP
portunity to arm their merchant vessels
with guns. On March Is, 1918, Winston
Churchill, then first lord of the admir-
atty. made the declaration in the British
Parliament exhibit u that the admiralty
had called upon the shipowners to arm
a number of f1rst-class liners for protec-
ton against danger menaced in certain
cases by fast auxiliary cruisers OF other
powers; the liners were not, however, to
assume the character of auxiliary
cruisers themselves. The government
desired to place at the disposal OF the
shipowners the necessary guns, sufficient
ammunition and suitable personnel for
the training OF the gun crews.
The English shipowners have readily
responded to the call of the admiralty
Thus Sir Owen Philippe, president of the
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, was
able to inform the stockholders Of his
company in May, 1913. that the larger
steamers of the company were equipped
with guns; Furthermore. the British ad-
miralty published in January. 1914. a list
according to which twenty-nine steamers
of various English lines carried guns aft.
AS a matter of fact, German cruisers
ascertained soon after the outbreak of
the war that English liners were armed.
For example. the steamer La Correntina,
of the Houlder Line, of Liverpool which
was captured by the German auxiliary
cruiser K1onprinz Friedrich Wilhelm on
October Z. 1914, had two 4.7-inch guns aft.
On February 1, 1875 a German submarine
was shelled in the channel by an English
yacht"