The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-01-13
POWERS RESTRICT
SUBMARINE WAR
NATIONS OF THE WORLD ASKED
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE
NEW DECREE.
SEAS PURGED OF THE MENACE
Resolution Proposed by Ellhu Root
and Amended by BaIfour lmme-
diately Effective Among
Sienatories.

WASnlnBtoD'-Ine uVe greatest nas
val powers Of the world decreed an
between themselves adjustment of
submarine warfare against merchant
ships. To purge the seas, forever, Of
this hidden menace to peaceful folk
and ships, the world Is asked to SUBJ
scribe to the decree as a new prin-
ciple Of international law.
AS adopted by the Naval Committee
aof the Arms Conference, the resolu-
ton proposed by Elihu Root and
amended by Arthur ]. Balfour, to be-
come Immediately effective between
the five signatory powers, runs as fol-
lows:
1.-The signatory powers recognize
the practical impossibility Of using
submarines as commerce destroyers
without violating, as they were VIC
lated In the recent war Of 19l4-191S,
the requirements universally accepted
by civilized nations for the protection
or the lives Of neutrals and noncom-
batants and to the end Of the prohibit
ton Of the use of submarines as COM
merce destrOyers shall be universally
accepted as part of the law Of ma
lions, they now accept that prohibition
as henceforth binding as between
themselves, and they invite all other
nations to adhere thereto"
Action of the committee Is final, so
far as the conference and the five ma.
val powers are concerned. The con-
ference mer'ly will give formal rati.
fication to the anti-submarine pact
when the five-power treaty, in which
1t will be incorporated, comes I'D in
open session.
The naval committee also adopted
the first Root proposal to declare in
simplest terms adherence TO the rules
of international law applying to mer-
chant vessels, their full application to
submarines and the invitation of the
five powers to all other nations TO ioin
In the declaration. This proposal al
ready had been tentatively agreed to,
but as returned to the full committee
by the Drafting Committee, headed by
Root, which put 1t In final shane. it
was divided into two distinct parts and
thus approved for incorporation in the
hve-power treaty, as follows: 49,
ITO the slgnatory powers desiring
to make more effective the rules and
by civilized nations for the protection
of the lives Of neutrals and non-cOm-
batants at sea In time Of war, declare
that among those rules the following
are to be deemed an established part
of international law:
"a mrchant vessel must be ordered
to submit to visit and search to deter |
mine its character before it can be
A merchant vessel must not be at
tackled unless it refuse to submit to
visit and search after warning, or to
proceed as directed after seizure.
"a merchant vessel must not be de- |
stroyed unless the crew and passen-
gers have been placed in safety.
"Belligerent submarines are not I'M
der any circumstances exempt from |
the universal rules above stated, and |
If a submarine cannot capture a mer-
chant vessel In conformity with these
rules the existing law of nations re-
quires 1t to deslst from attack and
from seizure and to permit the mer.
chant vessel to proceed unmolested.
1.-THE signatory powers invite all
other civilized powers to express their
assent to the foregoing statement Of
law so that they may be a
clear public understanding throughout
the world Of the standards Of conduct
by which the public opinion of the
world is to pass judgment upon future
belligerents."