The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-03-31
MORE AMERICANS
SENT TO DEATH BY
GERMAN MISSILES
MORE ACCUSATION
AGAINST GERMANS
Lord Robert Cecil Replies TO the State
ment of Zimmerman About Threat
ened War with United States.

London, March 3l.--Lord Robert Cecil
the British blockade minister, last nigh'
made reply to the latest utterances ol
Dr. Won Bethmann Hollweg, the German
! imperial chancellor, in statement to the
Associated Press;
"The German chancellor claims that
Germany in the past renouneed the unre-
stricted use of her submarine weapon IN
! the expectation that Great Britain could
/ be made TO observe in her blockade pol
icy the laws of humanity and interna-
tional agreements, said Lord Robert
1T is difficult to say whether this state
mcnt is the more remarkable for its hy-
pocrisy or for it's falseness. 1t would
hardly seem that German is in position
to speak of humanity or international
agreements, since she began this war by
deliberately violating the international
agreement guaranteeing the neutrality OF
Belgium and she has continued it by
violating all the dictates of humanity,
Has the chancellor forgotten that the
German forces have been guilty OF eN-
cesses in Belgium unparalleled in history,
eliminating in the attempted enslave-
ment of dauntless people; OF poisoning
wells; of bombarding open towns torpe-
doing hospital ships, and sinking other.
vessels with total disregard for the safe
tv of non-combatants on board, with the
result that many hundreds OF innocent
victims, including both women and chill
dren, have lost their lives?
"The latest manifestation of this pol
lev is to be seen in the devastations and
deportatons carried out by the Germans
in their forced retreat on the western
front. The chancellor states that it is
because the allies have not abandoned
their blockade and have refused the so
called peace offer of Germany, that unre- |
stricted submarine warfare is now decid- |
ed on. As to this, | willdo no more than |
quote what the chancellor himself said |
in the Reichstag when announcing the |
adoption of unrestricted submarine war.
"He said that as soon as he himself, in
agreement with the supreme army com
mand, reached the conviction that ruth
less U-boat warfare would bring Ger
many nearer to victorious peace, then
the U-boat warfare would be started.
He continued;
This moment has now arrived. Last
autumn the time was not ripe: but to-
lay the moment has come when with
he greatest prospect Of success we can
undertake this enterprise. We must not
wait any longer. Where has there been a
hange? In the first place, the most inn
lortant fact of all is that the number of
,ur submarines has been very consider
Ibly increased as compared with last
mi, tbnrahxy Hrp bo o.ic hac haax, !
reated for success II
Does not this prove conclusively that
t was not any scruple or any respect for
law or neutral rights that
revented unrestricted warfare from be-
ng adopted earlier, but merely lack of
means to carry it out. think it may be
seful once again to point out that the
legal and inhuman attack on shipping
v the Germans cannot be justified as a 4
eprisal for the action of Great Britain
4 attempting to cut off from Germany
II imports.
The submarine campaign was clearly
as far back as December,
pa when Admiral Won Tirpitz gave an
ldication to an American correspondent {
/ Berlin of the projected plan. As for b
IL litd tiidJ tilt dIlieS are aiming at Lle o
nnihilation of Germany and, her allies r
nd that ruthless warfare is therefore b
lstified, it is sufficient in order to refute t
his to quote the following passage from h
le allies reply of Jan. 10, 1917, to Pres q
ent Wilson's note: a
There is no need to say that if the II
lies desire to liberate Europe from the b
'utal coyetousness of Prussian militar- Il
m the determination and political dis Il
opearance of the German people have a
'ver, as has been pretended, formed a
lrt OF their design OF
"The allusion made to Russia by the ei
erman chancellor can hardly be treated *
riously. A government of Hohenzol- fc
rms cannot pose as the champions of W
eedom and self.government as against m
ltocraey When the German people en- in
y the benefits of truly representative in
'vernment and are no longer dominated bl
military autocracy, Germany may III
pear in that role but not until then" su