Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-01-31
REPORTS ON ARMED
SHIP ISSUE DENIED
State Department Officials
Say Situation Is Absolutely
Unchanged.
GERMANY SOON TO ACT

Various reports of developments in the
armed ship issue were met by the State
Department today with long line OF
categorical denials, the whole effect OF
which is to represent the situation as alb
solutely unchanged
These officials said no list of specific
cases of the offensive use of defensive"
armament had been submitted by Ger
many; that no new ruling on the armed
ship issue had been asked by Germany;
that no inquiry as to reported increases
in defensive armament had been sent to
England: that no authentic Information
had been received at the department that
the British admiralty had offered re-
wards to merchantmen commanders who
sunk German submarines; that no new
principle had been laid down by this gov
ernment in the submarine or armed ship
issues, and that no settlement had been
made of the sinking of the British horse
ship Russian, with the loss of seventeen
Americans. of the Marina, with the loss
of six. of the Arabia and of at least eight
other cases which have been inquired
into by this country.
The only contribution to the subma-
rine and armed ship issue offered py
the State Department since the German
peace offer of December IL has been
the informal Interpretation of the orig
inal armed ship memorandum of March
25 last to the effect that the United
States has as yet laid down no policy
which would preclude the armlng OF
ships fore as well as aft. Each case,
it is stated, must be settled entirely on
ri.
passenger list. nature of voyage and
general intentions. AS rule, it is de-
clared that an otherwise regular pas
senger or freighter on it's accustomed
route is to be assumed to be merely de-
fensiyely armed, regardless of the eX-
act nature of her armament. The bur-
den of proof of offensive use of the
armament is with the submarine com
mander.
Germany to Answer Address.
The German embassy has received in
formation that the Berlin government
will issue a reply to President Will
sons peace address to the Senate. a
eign office by the American embassy
officials of the embassy disclaim any
knowledge of the tenor of the reply OF
of the form in which It would be de-
livered.
The coming of the communication is
awaited with great interest in ali
quarters here, and there is much spec
ulation over the possibility of its fur
nishing the basis for another peace
move by the President.
Information has reached here that
Germany and her allies are considering
communicating to the State Depart
ment a virtual warning that Ameri-
cans should keep off of armed merch-
ant ships of belligerent nations
It is not known just when or in wha'
manner the warning may be conveyed
but Germany apparently has been paw.
ing the way for such step for several
weeks by submitting to the State De-
partment a series of statements alleg-
ing specific instances in which mer-
chant craft of the entente powers have
used extensively against submarines guns
carried ostensibly for defense.
Held Dangerous by Germany.
The presence of even one gun ON a
merchantmen always has been held by
danger to passengers and crew. II a
merchantmen SO armed opens fire. ac-
cording to the principles of interna-
tional law recognized by the United
States, it loses immunity. If an an
swering shot is fired by a submarine II
is held to be operating in conformity
with law. According to the American
view, the instant the merchant ship
capitulates it and the passengers and
crew are again to be considered i'm
mune from attack.
German officials now have about
reached the conclusion that it is proper
to call the attention of the United
States to the cases submitted and sug-
gest in friendly spirit that Americans
taking passage on ships which the
United States considers defensively
armed needlessly place themselves in
danger.
The armed ship question. an unsolved
problem throughout all the negotiations
over submarine warfare, is involved in
practically all of the cases now pend
ing between the United States and Ger
many and over which an admittedly
grave situation eventually will have to
be faced. Officials of the American gov
ernment. however, have adopted a wait
ing attitude during discussion of moves
for peace, and still believe that the
submarine issue will not be forced to a
conclusion as long as there is "a possibil-
ity of tangible developments toward
peace.