Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-01-22 | Page 3 | Germany Explains to United States

GERMANY EXPLAINS TO UNITED STATES Admiralty Issues Statement on Detention Deten-tion of Neutral Sailers on Armed Merchantmen. BERLIN, via London, Jan. 21. A summary sum-mary of the ( Icr man admiralty's official statement on the detention as prisoners of war of neutral sailors aboard armed merchantmen mer-chantmen captured by the German naval forces was cabled to the state department ai Washington by Ambassador Gerard last evening. German official circles profess to regard the case as affurding an opportunity for negoiiailons looking to th? settlement between be-tween America and Germany of the status of armed merchantmen. Since the case is not complicated by the loss of human hie. optimism over an amicable adjustment is expressed here. Since the issuing of the German memorandum memo-randum on armed merchantmen earlier in the war German authorities have held that a ship which mounts puns, whether tbev be intended for defense or offense, loses it Mains as a private, cnmmer.'ial craft and be. omcs a warship. Sailors taking tak-ing service on such a ship, these authorities authori-ties contend, lose iheir neutral status iust as if Ihev had enlisted m the naval forces of a belh'ccrcnt.