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Show GERMANS KILL BRITISH CAPTAIN , Allies Consider Act of Enemy Brutal Violation of International Interna-tional Law Which May-Result May-Result in Prompt Reprisals. Berlin, July) 28. Testimony was presented at the court martial which sentenced the captain of the British merchant ship Brussels to show that while Captain Fiyatt did not belong to the armed forces, he had attempted on March 28, 1915, while near the Maas lightship, to ram the German submarine subma-rine U-33. Honored by British. Captain Fryatt and the first officer offi-cer and the first engineer of the Brussels ' received from the British admiralty gold watches for "brave conduct" and were, mentioned in the house of commons. The submarine U-33, according to the official account of the trial, had signaled to the British steamer to show her flag and to stop but Captain Cap-tain Fryatt did not heed and it is alleged turned at his best speed toward tho submarine which escaped only by diving immediately several yards below be-low the surface. Captain Fryatt, the official statement state-ment says, admitted that he had fol-followed fol-followed the instructions of the British Brit-ish admiralty. Sentence was confirmed confirm-ed and tho captain was executed .and shot for a "franc tlreur crime against armed German sea forces." The trial was held at Bruges, Belgium, Bel-gium, yesterday. When captured by German torpedo boats June 24 Captain Fryatt was piloting pi-loting tho steamship Brussels from Rotterdam to Tilbury. Several German Ger-man warships dashed out of the naval nav-al base at Zeebrugge and escorted the Brussels back to the Belgian harbor. har-bor. The ship carried an all-British crow of forty-four men. Dutch newspapers said It was generally gen-erally believed that tho capture of the Brussels was brounght about by a passenger who said ho was an American, but who was believed to bo a German. This man waB said to have made slgnala to the German warships. Washington, July 28 Germany's execution ex-ecution of Captain Charles Fryatt, master of the British steamship Brussels Brus-sels for an alleged attempt to ram a submarlno is regarded In allied quarters quar-ters here as a brutal violation of international in-ternational law likely to result in prompt retaliatory measures by Great Britain. They contend that if a hostile hos-tile submarine approached tbe Brussels Brus-sels It was in effect an attack and Captain Fryatt in making a counter attack by attempting to ram .subjected .subject-ed himself only to treatment as a prisoner pris-oner of war In event of capture. Reprisals by the allies It is feared, might be followed by a change In the German submarlno policy which has been satisfactory to the United States since the last assurances that merchant merch-ant ships would not bo attacked without with-out warning or without provision for safety of passengers and crows. Convention number 10 of the second sec-ond Hague peace conference sets forth how the crews of merchantmen who legitimately resist capture shall be treated as part of the armed forces for-ces of an enemy. Ono of the best authorities on the subject saya: Hague Conference Law. "In a sense the crews of merchant men owned by subjects of the belligerents bellig-erents belong to the latter's armed forces. For these vessels aro liable to bo seized by enemy men-of-war and if attacked for that purpose they may 'defend themselves, may return tho attack and equally seize the attacking at-tacking men-of-war. Tho crews of merchantmen becomo in such cases combatants and onjoy all the privileges privi-leges of tho members of armed forces. But unless attacked they must not commit hostilities and if they do so they are naDio to be treated as criminals crim-inals just as aro private individuals who commit hostilities in land warfare." war-fare." Officials hero point out that the United States has taken the position that the master of any merchant vessel ves-sel who sees a submarine approaching approach-ing has from tho very nature of the submarine nature of warfare tho right to presume that ho is about to be attacked. at-tacked. Consequently, it is argued, he has tho right in turn to forestall that attack by himself ramming or firing to defend himself. London Deeply Stirred. London, July 28, 5:35 p. m. News of tho execution of Captain Fryatt of the British steamer Brussels, caused a painful Impression at the British foreign office. Under the instructions of Viscount Grey, the foreign secretary, secre-tary, a note was dispatched immediately immedi-ately to tho American embassy requesting re-questing that James W. Gerard, the American ambasador at Berlin, procure pro-cure complete details of tho affair. |