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Show GERMANS CLAIM ON NAVAL POWER Great Britain Has Violated All the Rules of Warfare, Say3 Holtzendorff. Berlin, Aug. 3, 4 p. m., via London, 11:30 p. m. "The naval warfare, which envy and spirit of revenge forced upon Germany and her allies, has passed, the chief impression left by it being increased by British naval terrorism and the battle of the Skag-gerak," Skag-gerak," said Admiral von Holtzendorff, Holtzen-dorff, chief of the general staff, In a statement to the Associated Press today, to-day, making public an account of the material results of the second twelvo months of the war from a naval stand-point. stand-point. "The neutral powers in 1916," Admiral Ad-miral von Holtzendorff continued, "were throttled more than In the first year by the sea power of England and hindered in the ustified exercise of their commerce, postal rights, etc., by threats and violence, The victory ot the German fleet over the British May 31 and June 1, therefore, was in the Interest of all the neutrals and all those who are dependent on the freedom free-dom of the seas." The naval year closed with the execution exe-cution of the British sea captaain, Fryatt, the chief topic of discussion. This is not regarded by Germany as an Isolated case, but as Germany's answer to what Is termed the doctrino of armed merchantmen adopted by Great Britain even before the war and to alleged illegalities, of which, accord, ing to the German claims, Great Brit-tain Brit-tain has repeatedly been guilty during the war. For this reason an important import-ant place in the revue furnished the Associated Press on Admiral von Holt-zendorff's Holt-zendorff's instructions, Is taken up in a recapitulation of alleged violations of International law charged against British ships. "While in the first year of the war," says the statement, "twenty proved violations of the law of nations by enemy en-emy merchantmen (firing upon German Ger-man submarines, attempts to ram them, etc.) occurred, 38 such cases were reported in the second year. Mer chantmen owned by the allies, there-fore, there-fore, during the two years violated in the grossest manner the rules of in. ternational law no less than 5S times against our submarines. This can bo proved up to the hilt. "The warships of Germany's ene-mies ene-mies during the war have violated the law of nations in three particularly extreme cases, namely, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, the Dresden and the Albatross. Two cases, the Bara-long Bara-long and the King Stephen, must be characterized not only a violations of the law of nations and a breach of the most extraordinary tenets of humanity, human-ity, but as common murder. Countless caseB In which British warships have violated international law in their conduct against merchantmen owned by the central powers or neutrals, cannot be enumerated." no |