Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1916-04-27


would be accorded their passengers
and crews; but even that limitation,
il it was ever practicable to observe
II, has in fact constituted no check at
all upon the destruction OF ships OF
every Sort
again and again the Imperial Ger.
man government has given this gov.
eminent its solemn assurances that at
least passenger ships would not be
thus dealt with, and yet it has again
and again permitted its undersea COM
manders to disregard those assurances
with entire immunity. Great liners like
the Lusitania and the Arabic and mere
Ferry boats like the Sussex have been
attacked without a moments warning,
sometimes before they had even be-
come aware that they were in the pres
ence Of an armed vessel of the enemy
and the lives Of noncombanant pas
sengers and crew have been sacrificed
Wholesale in a manner which the gov
eminent of the United States cannot
but regard as wknton and without the
slightest color Of 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
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 tho ominous toll has
mounted into thu hundreds.
L. S. Government Has Been Patient.
Recent events make the conclusion
inevitable that !. is only one instance,
even though it be one Of the most ex-
IRENE and distressing instances, of
the spirit and method of warfare
which the Imperial German govern
ment has mistakenly adopted, and
which from the first exposed that gov
eminent to the r4proach of thrust.ng
all neutral rights aside in pursuit of
its immediate objects.
THE government of the United
States has been very patient. At every
stage of this distressing experience of
tragedy after tragedy, in which its
W citizens were involved, 1t has
sought to be restrained from any ex-
IRENE our Of action or of protest by
a thoughtful consideration of the ex-
~traordinary circumstances of this un-
precedented war, and actuated in all
that is said or did by the sentiments
of genuine friendship, which the peo-
pie of the United States have always
entertained, and continue to entertain,
towards the German nation. 1t has,
of course, accepted the successive ex-
plantations and assurances Of the I'M
perial German government, as given in
entire sincerity and good faith, and
has hoped, even against hope, that it
would prove to be possible for the Ger
man government so to order and con-
troll the acts of its naval commanders
as to square its policy with the princi-
pies of humanity as embodied in the
laws Of nations. 1t has been willing to
wait until the significance of the acts
became absolutely Enthusiastically and
susceptible of but n Interpretation.
THAT point has now unhappily been
reached. The facts are susceptible of
but n Interpretation. The Imperial
German government has been unable
to put any limits Oh restraints upon its
warfare against either freight or pas
senger ships. 1t has therefore become
painfully evident that the position
which this government took at the
very outset is inevitable, namely, that
the use of the submarines for the de-
srruction of an enemy's comerce is Of
necessity because of the very charac-
ter Of the vessels employed and the
very method Of attack which their en-
ployment of course involves, incom-
patible with the principles of humanity
the long established and incontroverti-
BILE rights Of neutrals and the sacred
Of noncombatants.
Il have deemed 1t my duty there
fore, to say to the Imperial German
government that If 1t is still 1t purpose
to prosecute relentless and indiscrim-
mate warfare against vessels of com
merce by the use of submarines, not
withstanding the now demonstrated
impossibility of conducting that war
fare in accordance with what the gov
eminent of the United States must
consider the sacred and indisputable
rules of international law and the uni
versally recognized dictates of hui
mainly, the government of the United
States is at last forced to the con-
clusion that there is but n course
can pursue; and that unless the I'm
perial government should now imme-
diately declare and effect an abandon
ment Of it's present methods of war
fare against passenger and freight YES
sells, this government can have no
choice but to sever diplomatic rela-
tons with the government of the Ger
man empire altogether.
81 have taken it, and taken 1t in the
that it will meet with your
approval and support. All sober
minded men must unite in hoping that
the Imperial German government,
which has in other circumstances
stood as the champion of all that we
are now ~contending for in the interest
of humanity, may recognize the JUS
tice of our demands and meet them in
the spirit in which they are made"
Demonstrations Compared.
"You mustn't neglect your studies
for athletics"
nFf-l - a. uYs