New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
German Chancellor Declares
America Must Suffer on
Sea for Arming Allies
Says War Is Kept Up by
"One-Sided" Neutrality
Blames This Country for
British Blockade-Admits
Withdrawing Pledges

Berlin, Feb. 27 (by wireless to
Sayville.) )-Inconsistency, lack Of
neutrality, unfairness and an actual
prolongation of the war were
charged against President Wilson by
Chancellor Won Bethmann-H Hollweg
in the Reichstag, when he made his
long deferred speech to that body
to-day.
"One step further than that taken
by European neutrals has been made
as is known-by the United States
of America" said the Chancellor.
President Wilson, after receiving
our note of January 81, brusquely
broke off relations with us. No au-
thentic communication about the rea-
sons which were given for his step
reached me. The former United
States Ambassador here in Berlin
communicated only in spoken words
to the State Secretary Of the For
eign Office of breaking off relations,
and asked for his passports. This
form of breaking off relations be-
tween great nations living in peace
probably is without precedent in his
tory.
"All official documents being lack
ing, / am forced to rely upon doubt
full sources-that Is, upon the cute;
(Reuter?) Offices version of the
contents Of the message sent BY
President Wilson on February 3 tc
Congress. In this version the Presi-
dent is reported to have said that our
note of January 81 suddenly and
without previous indication inten-
tionally withdrew the solemn prom
ises made in the note Of May, 1916.
Protests u. s. Interpretation
"To the United States government.
therefore, no choice compatible with
dignity and honor was left other than
tho way which had been announced in
her note of April 20, 1916, covering
the case il Germany should not want
to give up her submarine method.
"If these arguments arc correctly re-
ported by Reuter-, then must decidedly
protest against them. For more than
a century friendly relations between
us and America have been carefully
promoted. We honored them--as Bis
msrck once put it-as an heirloom
from Frederick the Great. Both coun-
tries benefited by It, both giving and
taking
"Since the beginning of the war
things have changed on the other side
of the waters. Old principles were
overthrown. On August 27, 1913, dur
ing the Mexican troubles, President
Wilson, in a solemn message to Con-
gress, declared that he intended to
follow the best usage Of international
law by a prohibition OF the supplying
Of arms TO both Mexican parties at war
against each other. One year later, in
1914, these usages apparently were no
longer considered good
Countless materials of war have
been supplied by America to the En-
tente, and while the right of the Ameri-
can citizen to travel without hindrance
to Entente countries and the right to
trade without hindrance with France
and England, even through the midst
of the battlefield, even the right of such
trade as we had to pay for with German
blood--while all these rights were jeal-
ously guarded, the same right Of
American citizens toward the Central
Powers did not seem to be as worthy Of
protection and as valuable.
Admits Withdrawing Pledges
"They protested against some meas
ures Of England which were contrary TO
international law, but they submitted
10 them. Under conditions of this kind
objection as TO lack of respect makes
strange impression.
with equal decisiveness I must pro-
test against the objection that we, by
the manner in which we withdrew the
assurances given in the note of May 4.
offended the honor and dignity Of the
United States. From the very begin
ming We had openly and expressly de-
clared that these assurances would be
invalid under certain conditions"
The Chancellor then recalled the last
paragraph of the note of May 4, 1915,
which he read verbatim, the last clause
being:
Should the steps taken by the gov
ernment Of the United States not at
tain the object It desires, namely, TO
have the laws Of humanity followed by
all the bel!igerent nations, the German
government would then be facing a new
situation, in which il must reserve to
itself complete liberty of decision"
The Chancellor then continues:
"As to the American answer given to
the German note, IL was so absolutely
contrary to what we in our note had
said clearly and without any possibility
of Misunderstanding that a reply on
our part would have changed nothing
as to the standpoints maintained by
both sides. But nobody. even in Amer
lea, could doubt that already long ago
the conditions were fulfilled upon
which. according to our Ssal.zatisa. d.