The Red Cloud chief., 1916-04-27

would take every possible precaution.
both to respect the rights of neutrals
and to safeguard the lives OF noncom
batants.
What has actually happened in the
year which has since elapsed has
shown that those hopes were not justi.
lied. those assurances i~nsusceptible Of
being fulfilled. In pursuance of the
policy of submarine warfare against
the commerce of its adversarics. thus
announced and entered upon by the
imperial German government In
despite of the solemn protest of this
government, the commanders Of Ger
man undersea vessels have attacked
merchant ships with greater and great.
er activity, not only upon the high
seas surrounding Great Britain and
Ireland. but wherever they encounter
them, in a way that has grown more
and more ruthless. more and more
indiscriminate as the months have
gone by. less and less observaut OF re
straints of any kind: and have deliv.
cred their attacks without Compunc.
ton against vessels OF every nationality
and bound upon every sort OF err.
rand. Vessels of neutral ownership
even vessels of neutral ownership
bound from neutral port to neutral
port. have been destroyed along with
vessels of b~elligerent ownership, in
constantly increasing numbers. Some
times the merchantmen attacked has
been warned and summoned to sur
render before being fired on or tor.
pedoed: sometimes passengers or
crews have been vouchsafed the poor
security of being allowed to take to
the ships boats before she was sent
to the bottom But again and again
no warning has been given. no escape
even to the ships boats allowed TO
those On board. What this government
loresaw must happen has happened
Tragedy has followed tragedy on the
@ a in such fashion. with such at
tendant circumstances. as to make II
grossly evident that warfare of such a
sort. If warfare 1t be. cannot be car
ried on without the most palpable
violation of the dictates alike of right
and of humanity. Whatever the dispo'
sition and intention OF the imperial
German government, it has manifestly
proved impossible for 1t to keep such
methods OF attack upon the commerce
OF its enemies within bounds set by
either the reason or the heart OF man
kind.
As to Armed Merchantmen.
In February of the present year the
imperial German government informed
this government and the other neutral
governments of the world that 1t had
reason to believe that the government
of Great Britain had armed all mer
chant vessels Of British ownership and
had given them secret orders to attack
any submarine of the enemy the,
might encounter upon the seas. anc
that the imperial German government
felt justified i'm the circumstances II
treating all armed merchantmen o
bclligerent ownership as auxiliary yes
sells of war, which it would have thu
right to destroy without warning.
THE law of nations has long rec
ognized the right of merchantmen t
carry arms for protection and to us'
them to repel attack, though to US,
them. in such circumstances. at thei
own risks: but the imperial German
government claimed the right to Sc
these understandings aside in circum
stances which it deemed eXtraordi
nary. Even the terms in which it an
nounCed its purpose thus still furth
or to relax the restraints 1t had pre-
viOusiy protested its Willingness ant
desire to put upon the operations OF II
submarines carried the plain impli
cation that at least vessels whicl
were not armed would still be exemp
from destruction without warning an,
that personal safety would be accord
ed their passengers and crews: bu
even that limitation, IL 1t was eve
practicable to observe it,, has in fac
constituted no check at all upon tn
destruction of ships OF every sort.
Again and again the imperial Gel
man government has given this go,
eminent its solemn assurances that a
least passenger ships would not b
thus dealt with. and yet 1t has agai
and again permitted its undersea con
manders to disregard these assul
ances with entire impunity. Grea
I liners like the Lusitania and the Al
| able and mere ferry boats like tn
| Sussex have been attacked withou
q moments warning, sometimes b'
/. fore they had even become aware tina
they were in the presence Of an arme
vessel Of the enemy, and the lives c
noncOmbatants, passengers and crew
I have been sacrificed wholesale. in
I manner which the government OF tn
United States cannot regard a
wanton and without the slightest co
j. or of justification. No limit OF an
e kind has in fact been set to the indiI
g criminate pursuit and destruction {
merchantmen of all kinds and nation
alities within the waters. constant
extending in area, where these ope
ations have been carried on. and tn