Evening star., 1940-04-08
BY the Associated Press.

OF the British French statement
on extension OF the blockade by
mines in Norwegian ,Daters tol-
loUs:
I'm recent weeks the German
campaign against merchant ship
ping of all nations has been inten-
sified and pursued with even greater
brutality than before.
'The number of neutral ships de-
stroyed by German action is now
we'll over $50 and the number of
neutral lives lost is nearly 1000.
"These attacks have been carried
out in almost every case in defiance
of recognized rules of war, fire.
quently in circumstances of the
greatest barbarity and on many oc-
casions without the slightest justifi-
cation for interference of any sort
with the ship.
Germany has announced that
she regards herself as entitled to
destroy any neutral ship en- route to
any British port, including contra
band control harbors, and there
have moreover been repeated cases
OF vessels being destroyed on voyages
between neutral ports when the ves-
sci had no intention of touching At
British port at all.
1T is obvious that the German
government are engaged in an in
discriminate campaign of destruc-
ton throughout waters in which
their unnotified mines are laid or in
which their submarines are in a po-
sition to operate.
Greatest Losses Fall
On Neutral Ships.
While in recent weeks the great
est losses have fallen upon neutral
shipping, British and allied vessels
have also suffered from adoption OF
this policy of destruction, new de-
velopment of which is bombing
from the air of British and neutral
trawlers and fishing boats and the
machine-gunning of their crews.
The innocent character of the
fishing boats has hitherto been uni
versally recognized, but this has not
prevented Germany from commit
ing nearly 200 attacks on fishing ves-
sells aimed at sinking them and mur-
dering their crews.
Even lightships, the object of
which is to protect shipping of all
nations, and which are by interna-
tional usage treated as non-com-
batants, have been with their crews
ruthlessly attacked by bombs.
ut is fact deserving of constant
emphasis that these German attacks
have been deliberately aimed at de.
struction Of neutral lives and prop
erty and 1t is abundantly clear that
the purpose behind them is pure ter
rorism.
"The allies, on the other hand
have never destroyed nor injured q
single neutral ship or taken a single
neutral life On the contrary. they
have not only saved the lives Of
many innocent victims of these Ger
man outrages, but they have also
not failed to rescue from drowning
German airmen and submarine
crews who have been guilty of the
inhumanities in question.
THE position is therefore that
Germany is flagrantly violating neu-
trail rights in order to damage allied
countries while insisting upon the
strictest observance of the rules o1
neutrality whenever such observance
would provide some advantage tc
herself.
international law has always rec
ognized the right of a belligerent
when its enemy has Systematically
resorted to illegal practices to take
action appropriate to the situation
created by the illeganties of the
enemy
"Such action, even though not
lawful in ordinary circumstances
becomes and is generally recognized
to become lawful in view of the
other belligerent's violation of law
The allied governments therefore
hold themselves entitled to take such