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Show WILSON'S NOTE TO GERMANS FIRM WHILE FRIENDLY IN ITS TERMS, INSISTS UPON PROTECTION FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS. The United States Formally Asks Germany Ger-many for Assurances That Measures Meas-ures Will Be Adopted to Safeguard Safe-guard Lives and Ships. Washington. The United States in Its latest note to Germany, made public pub-lic on June 10, formally asks the imperial im-perial government for assurance that measures hereafter will be adopted to safeguard "American lives and American Amer-ican ships" on the high seas. The alternative al-ternative In case o refusai is not stated. It was this note to which William Jennings Bryan refused to attach his signature, resigning instead his portfolio port-folio of secretary of state, and thereby there-by precipitating a dramatic cabinet crisis. Robert Lansing, secretary of state ad interim, signed the communication, communi-cation, which went forth with the approval ap-proval of the president and his entire cabinet. " The text of the American rejoinder to the German government's reply to the note following the sinking of the Lusitania follows. The secretary of state ad interim to the American ambassador to Berlin: Department of State, Washington, June 9, 1915. American ambassador, Berlin: You are instructed to deliver textually the following note to the minister of foreign for-eign affairs: "In compliance with your excellency's excel-lency's request I did not tail to transmit trans-mit to my government immediately upon their receipt your note ot May 28, in reply to my note of May 15, and your supplementary note of June 1, setting forth the conclusions so far as reached by the imperial German government concerning the attacks on the American steamers dishing and Gulflight. I am now instructed by my government to communicate the following fol-lowing in reply: "The government of the United States notes with gratification the full recognition by the imperial German government, in discussing the cases of the Cushing and the Gulflight, of the principle of the freedom of all parts of the open sea to neutral ships and the frank willingness of the1 imperial government to acknowledge and meet its liability where the fact of attack upon neutral ships 'which have been guilty of any hostile act' by German aircraft or vessels of war is satisfactorily satisfac-torily established, and the government of the United States will in due course lay before the imperial German government, gov-ernment, as it requests, full Information Informa-tion concerning the attack on the steamer Cushing. "With regard to the sinking of the steamer Falaba, by which an American Amer-ican citizen lost his life, the government govern-ment of the United States is surprised to find the imperial German government govern-ment contending that an effort on the part of a merchantman to escape capture cap-ture and secure assistance, alters the obligation of the officer seeking to make the capture in respect of the safety of the lives of those on board the merchantman, although the vessel has ceased her attempt to escape when torpedoed. These are not new circumstances. They have been in the minds of statesmen and of international inter-national jurists throughout the development devel-opment of naval warfare, and the government gov-ernment of the United States does not understand that they have ever been held to alter the principles of humanity upon which it has insisted. Nothing but actual forcible resistance or continued efforts to escape by flight when ordered to stop for the purpose of visit on the part of the merchantman has ever been held to forfeit the lives of her passengers or crew. The government of the United States, however, does not understand that the imperial German government govern-ment is seeking in this case to relieve itself of liability, but only intends to set forth the circumstances which led the commander of the submarine to allow himself to be hurried into the course which he took. "Your excellency's note, in discussing discus-sing the loss of American lives resulting result-ing from the sinking of the steamship Lusitania, adverts at some length to certain information which the imperial impe-rial German government has received with regard to the character and outfit out-fit of that vessel, and your excellency expresses the fear that this information informa-tion may not have been brought to the attention of the government of the united States. It is stated in the note that the Lusitania was unodubtedly equipped with masked guns, supplied with trained gunners and special ammunition, am-munition, transporting troops from Canada, carrying a cargo not permitted permit-ted under the laws of the United Stai-s to a vessel also carrying passengers, pas-sengers, and serving, in virtual effect, as an auxiliary to the naval forces of Great Britain. Fortunately these are natters concerning which the government govern-ment of he United States is in a position po-sition to give the imperial German government official information. Of the facts alleged in your excellency's note, if true, the government of the United States would hare been bound to take official cognizance in performing perform-ing its recognized duty as a neutral power and in enforcing its national laws. It was its duty to see to it that the Lusitania was not armed for offensive offen-sive action; that she was not serving as a transport; that she did not carry a cargo prohibited by the statutes of the United States, and that, if in fact she was a naval vessel of Great Britain, Brit-ain, she should not receive clearance as a merchantman; and it performed that duty and enforced its statutes with scrupulous vigilance through its regularly constituted officials. It is able, therefore, to assure the imperial impe-rial German government that it has been misinformed. If the imperial German government sliould deem it- S oTie ''United States did not nerform these duties with thoroughness thorough-ness The government of the United States sincerely hopes that it wil. submit that evidence for considers tion. , Arguments Irrelevant. "Whatever mav be the contention of the imperial German government regarding re-garding the carriage ot contraband of war on board the Lusitania or regard-ing regard-ing the explosion of that materia by the torpedo, it need only be said that in the view of this government these contentions are irrelevant to the , que, tion of the legality of the methods used bv the German nava. authority in sinking that vessel. "But the sinking of passenger ships involves principles of Humanity which throw into the background any specun circumstances of detail that may be thought to affect the cases, prihciples which lift it, as the imperial govern, ment will no doubt be quick o recognize recog-nize and acknowledge, out of the class of ordinarv subjects of diplomatic discussion dis-cussion or of international controversy. contro-versy. , "Whatever be the other facts regarding re-garding the Lusitania, the principal fact is that a great steamer, primarily and chiefly a conveyance for passengers passen-gers and carrying more than a thousand thou-sand souls who had no part or lot in the conduct of the war, was torpedoed and sunk without so much as a challenge chal-lenge or a warning, and that men, women and children were sent to their death in circumstances unnaral- leled in modern warfare. The fact that more than one hundred American Amer-ican citizens were among those who perished make it the duty of the government gov-ernment of the United States to speak of these things and once more,, with solemn emphasis, to call the attention of the imperial German government to the grave responsibility which the government of the United States conceives con-ceives that it has incurred in this tragic occurrence, and to the indisputable indis-putable principle upon which that responsibility re-sponsibility rests. "The government of the United States is contending for something much greater than mere rights ot property or privileges of commerce. It is contending for nothing less high and sacred than the rights of humanity, human-ity, which every government honors itself in respecting and which no government gov-ernment is justified in resigning on behalf of those under its care and authority. au-thority. Only her actual resistance to capture or refusal to stop when ordered or-dered to do so for the purpose of visit could have afforded the commander of the submarine any justification for so much as putting the lives of those on board the ship in jeopardy. This principle the government of the United States understands the explicit instructions issued on August 3, 1914, by the imperial German admiralty to its commanders at sea to have recognized recog-nized and embodied, as do the naval codes of all other nations; and upon it every traveler and seaman has a right to depend. It is upon this principle prin-ciple of humanity as well as upon the law founded upon this principle that the United States must stand. Offer of Services. "The government of ' the United States is happy to observe that your excellency's note closes with- the intimation inti-mation that the imperial German government gov-ernment is willing, now as before, to accept the good offices of the United States in an attempt to come to an understanding with the government ot Great Britain by which the, character and conditions of the war upon the sea may be changed. The government of the United States would consider it a privilege thus to serve its friends and the world. It stands ready at any time to convey to either government any intimation or suggestion the other may be willing to have it convey and cordially invites the imperial German government to make use of its services serv-ices in thifi way at its convenience. The whole world is concerned in anything any-thing that may bring about even a partial par-tial accommodation of interests or in any way 'mitigate the terrors of the present distressing conflict. "In the meantime, whatever arrangement ar-rangement may happily be made between be-tween the parties to the war, and whatever may in the opinion of the imperial German government have been the provocation or the circumstantial circum-stantial justification for the past acts of its commanders at sea, the government govern-ment of the United States confidently looks to see the justice and humanity of the government of Germany vindicated vindi-cated hi all cases where Americans have been wronged or their rights as neutrals invaded. "The government of the United States therefore very earnestly and very solemnly renews the representations representa-tions of its note transmitted to the imperial German government on the 15th of May, and relies in these representations rep-resentations upon the principles of humanity, the universally recognized understandings of international law and the ancient fiiendship of the German Ger-man nation. Assertion of Rights. "The government of the United States cannot admit that the proclamation procla-mation of a war zone from which neutral ships have been warned to keep away may be made to operate as m any degree an abbreviation of the rights either of American shipmasters or of American citizens bound on lawful law-ful errands as passengers ou merchant ships of belligerent nationality It does not understand the imperial' German Ger-man government to question those rights. It understands it also to accept ac-cept as established beyond -juestion the principle that the Ihv, of on-combatants on-combatants cannot lawfully or rightfully right-fully be put in jeopardy by ,e ture or destruction of an unresist merchantman, and to recogrize ti e obligation to take sufficient precaut n tp ascertain whether a suspected mer chantman ,s in fact of belligerent nationality na-tionality or is in fact carrying contra-band contra-band of war under a neutral flag 'The government of the Vir-erf States therefore deems it eao abV to expect that the imperial German government will adopt the measTres necessary to put these pricip.r3 ,ilr practice in respect of he safeguard ing of American lives and American witm " " . .. "Robert w. la::s,vC I Secretary of State n i,uri,,', .. |