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Show WILSON DEMANDS HUMAN WARE PRESIDENT CALLS ON GERMANY TO PUT AN END TO LAWLESS LAW-LESS NAVAL WAR. Declares That Submarines Cannot be I Used Against Merchantmen' Without With-out Violation of the Principles of Justice and Humanity. Washington. President Wilson's note to Germany, forwarded Thursday Thurs-day night by Secretary Bryan, has brought the United States to the brink of war with Germany, in the opinion of some of the best authorities authori-ties on international law in Washington. Wash-ington. The president, after stating that the United States government "has observed with growing concern, distress dis-tress and amazement" the recent acts of German authorities in violation of American rights on the high seas, which culminated in the sinking of the British steamship Lusitania, by which over 100 Americans lost their lives, declares: "Manifestly, submarines cannot be used against merchantmen, as the last few weeks have shown, without an inevitable violation of many sacred sa-cred principles of justice and humanity," human-ity," and therefore, "the imperial German government will not expect the government of the United States to omit any word or any act necessary neces-sary to the performance of its sacred duty of maintaining the rights of the United States and its citizens and of safeguarding their free exercise and enjoyment." International authorities of high repute hold that the president's contention con-tention that Germany has violated the rules of international law by the method meth-od of attack made by her submarines on merchant vessels is impregnable. The illustration used by one high authority was: "A new method or means of warfare war-fare cannot change the rules of international inter-national law any more than the invention inven-tion of a new weapon could change the law against murder." There being no question about the positiveness of the stand taken by this government, intense interest was manifested in Washington on the probable position which would be taken by Germany in response to the American Ameri-can demands. A high German authority expressed the opinion that Germany will not grant the right of the United States to ask for a guarantee that there will be no further atacks by submarines on merchant ships carrying non-combatants. Germany, it was said, probably would make every possible concession I in the direction of giving non-eombat-! ants time and opportunity to get into the lifeboats before torpedoing any merchantman, whether neutral or belligerent. bel-ligerent. To ask Germany to give a guarantee guaran-tee that there will be no further attacks at-tacks by submarines on merchant ships carrying non-combatants, in the opinion of the German authority, would be to admit the right of interference inter-ference between two belligerents. |