The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-02-16
TRADE QUESTION INVOLVED.
UNITED STATES WARNED THAT
ARMED MERCHANT SHIPS
WILL BE SUNK WITH.
OUT WARNING.
VIII be Considered as War Vessels by
Central Alliance Submarines-Plub.
ably Settles Question Of Risk for
Neutrals OH Unar1med Vessels, but
Involves Standing OF Allies Vessels
With Respect to Trade,

With Respect to Trade.
Washington, Feb. 10.-Germany
and Austria have formally notified
the United States that beginning
March 1 commanders of their sub
marines will consider armed mer-
chantmen of the entente allies to be
warships and will treat them accord
ingly.
Under such instruction commanders
would be at liberty to sink without
warning any armed vessel, whether
passenger or freight carrying.
The notifications were presented
orally to Secretary Lansing by Count
Won Bernstorff and Baron Erich
Awiedinek, charge Of the Austro-
Hungarion embassy here.
Notes from their governments are
to follow.
The intention of the Teutonic allies
is considered in official and diplomatic
circles here to be a development of
the memorandum proposing the dis
arming of merchant ships which Sec
retary Lansing recently sent to the
entente powers High officials of the
state department seemed disposed to
consider the development broad
enough to warrant the claim that the
fundamental questions involved in the
conduct Of submarine warfare have
been settled in accordance with the
contentious Of the United States. This
Is based on the belief that with Ger.
many and Austria. giving notice that
they will sink without warning all
armed ships, the two governments
can not legally claim the right to sink
unarmed vessels. That is the prin-
ciple for which the United States so
vigorously contended since the begin
ming of the negotiations over the con-
duct of submarine warfare.
In view of this situation American
citizens, it is stated by high authority,
now may be warned that they will
take passage aboard armed merchant
ships at their own risk and be entitled
to no more protection from the
United States than if they had en-
parked upon a belligerent warship.
Officials today seemed not to be able
to conceive that any issue could arise
IN the future from submarine war
fare conducted under these rules.
1t was said in Teutonic diplomatic
circles that the effective date of the
instruction was postponed in order
to give enemy merchant ships oppor-
tunity to disarm.
1t is also to enable belligerents to
conform to me ideas suggested by the
United States in it's memorandum.
While state department officials de-
chned to discuss the notifications re-
ceived it was admitted in various quar-
ters that the proposition probably
would receive little opposition from
the state department. 1t was con.
sidered that the immediate effect
would be to cause the department to
announce more quickly than had been
deemed advisable it's intention to
abandon the old ruling, which per-
mitted merchant ships to carry arms
for defensive purposes.
The department is known to have
hoped to get an agreement for all
or the entente allies to disarm their
merchant ships. and then to get a
pledge from the central powers to re-
frain absolutely from attacking such
unarmed ships without warning.
Secretary Lansing said today that
none Of the allies had replied to
his note.
In the allied embassies here it was
stated that, although word had not
been received from their governments.
not the slightest doubt prevailed that
the suggestions of the United States
would be rejected.
Coincident with the virtual threat
or the United States to classify armed
merchant ships as war vessels. and
therefore, not entitled to enter Amer
lean water more than once in every
SIX months or to remain more than
"a. hours, it was said at one of the
embassies that if the United States in
iace OF the desperate need of ships to
carry It's products abroad could af-
iord TO exclude from it's ports allied
merchantmen, the governments own