New-York tribune., 1918-08-26

No. IA, on the port side, according to
the weather."
The opinion then sets forth the Sc
ries of events preceding the sailing Of
the Lusitania, including the German
imperial governments proclamation de-
clarng the waters surrounding Great
Britain and Ireland, including the
whole English Channel, to be a war
zone, and stating that even neutral
war zone. and the protest sent by the
United States to the German govern
ment
"No one familiar with the British
character would expect that such a
threat would accomplish more than to
emphasize the necessity of taking every
precauton to protect life and proper
ty," the opinion continues.
Captain Took Precautions
Next follows statement of the pre-
7cautions taken by the captain during
the voyage and of wireless messages
received by him from the British Ad-
miralty warning him that submarines
were active off the Irish coast and Civ
ing instructions as to what course to
take.
"a considerable amount of testimony
was taken upon the contention Of
claimants that many of the ships ports
were open, thus reducing her buoyancy
ard substantially Fastening her sink
ing. There is no doubt that on May 6
adequate orders were given to close all
ports.
at is to be expected that those pas
sengers who lost members Of their
family and friends and who saw some
of the unfortunate accidents should
feel strongly and entertain the impress
70 Nn firin Il Il ,,nl
negligence was widespread among the
crew. Such an impression, however,
does an inadvertent injustice to the
great majority of the crew
Il now come to what seems to me
the only debatable question of fact in
the namely, whether Captain
Turner was negligent in not literally
following the Admiralty advices, and
also IN not taking a course different
from that which he adopted.
Captain Not Negligent
"rhe fundamental principle in navi-
eating merchantmen, whether in
times of peace or war, is that the com
mandlng officer must be left free to
exercise his own judgment. The point
OF the matter is that an experienced
captain took the bearing he thought
proper for his purposes, and to predi-
to assert that a captain is bound to
guess the exact location of hidden
and puzzling danger. l find, therefore,
as a fact, that the captain and, hence
the petitioner, were not negligent.
"The fault therefore must be laid
upon those who are responsible for the
sinking of the vessel, in the legal as
we'll as the moral sense.
Germany to Blame
at is therefore not the Cunard Line,
petitioner, which must be held liable
for the loss of life and property The
cause of the sinking of the Lustania
was the illegal act of the Imperial Ger
man government, acting through it's in
strument, the submarine commander,
and violating cherished and humane
rule observed, until this war, by even
the bitterest antagonists.
But while in this lawsuit there
may be no recovery, it is not to be
doubted that the United States of
America and her Allies will we'll re-
member the rights of those affected by
the sinking of the Lusitania and, when
the time shall come, will see to it that
reparation shall be made for one of
the most indefensible acts of modern
times. The petition is granted and the
claims dismissed without costs"