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Show WILSON'S NOTE 10 : GERMANY IS 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 S.iips. J Washington The United States in Its latest note to Germany, made pub-f pub-f lie on June 10, formally asks the im-' im-' perial government for assurance that x measures hereafter will be adopted to safeguard "American lives and Amer-3 Amer-3 lean ships" on the high seas. The alternative al-ternative in case of refusal is not . stated. ;. It was this note to which William Jennings Bryan refused to attach his signature, resigning instead his port- folio of secretary of state, and there-, there-, by precipitating a dramatic cabinet -crisis. Robert Lansing, secretary of state ad interim, signed the communi-'' 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 J following note to the minister of for-ien for-ien affairs: I "In compliance with your excel-." excel-." lency's request I did not fail to trans-- trans-- mit to my government immediately upon their receipt your note of May - 28, in reply to my note of May 15, and your supplementary note of June 1, setting forth the conclusions so far - sls reached by the imperial German -government concerning the attacks on the American steamers Cushing and "' Gulflight. I am now instructed by my !; government to communicate the fol-j lowing in reply: i "The government of the United States notes with gratification the full ;-: recognition by the imperial German a, government, in discussing the cases of - the Cushing and the Gulflight, of the principle of the freedom of all parts cf the open sea to neutral ships and the frank willingness of the 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 n lay before the imperial German gov-zz gov-zz ernment, as it requests, full informa-h; informa-h; tion concerning the attack on the ,1; steamer Cushing. "With regard to the sinking of the '; steamer Falaba, by which an Amer-t" Amer-t" ican citizen lost his life, the government govern-ment of the United States is surprised ! i to find the imperial German govern-ie: govern-ie: ment contending that an effort on the part of a merchantman to escape cap-u cap-u ture and secure assistance, alters the (1 obligation of the officer seeking to t.; make the capture in respect of the 7' 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 U ; the minds of statesmen and of inter-national inter-national jurists throughout the devel-'. devel-'. opment of naval warfare, and the gov-1S' gov-1S' eminent of the United States does J?:oot understand that they have ever s 1 been held to alter the principles of a'.-humanity upon which it has insisted. :rj 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 1 merchantman has ever been held . to forfeit the lives of her passengers or M'crew. The government of the United jj t States, however, does not understand Hi ; that the imperial German government govern-ment is seeking in this case to relieve .ej; Itself of liability, but only intends to j.i set forth the circumstances which led the commander of the submarine to '"'allow himself to be hurried into the s course which he took. i'- "Your, excellency's note, in discus's. discus-'s. ing the loss of American lives result-aitflng result-aitflng from the sinking of the steamship aK : Lusitania, adverts at some length to I j,: certain information which the impe-. impe-. rial German government has received with regard to the character and out-, out-, fit of that vessel, and your excellency i expresses the fear that this informant1 informa-nt1 tion may not have been brought to e: the attention of the government of the rJdi United States. It is stated in the note j;j:that the Lusitania was unodubtedly jjji equipped with masked guns, supplied so'''1'1. tra'ned gunners and special am-,v am-,v munition, transporting troops from " Canada, carrying a cargo not permit-tifj'ted permit-tifj'ted under the laws of the United rdfe States to a vessel also carrying pastor pas-tor sengers, and serving, in virtual effect, , t'as an auxiliary to the naval forces of jjf) Great Britain. Fortunately these are (er jttatters concerning which the government govern-ment of the United States is in a poop- sition to give the imperial German "''".eovernmeiit official information. Of ".'the facts alleged in your excellency's 8:',?.ot.e' ic ,rue. tlie government of the United States would have been bound jyCjo lake official cognizance in perform-.uttihig perform-.uttihig its recognized duty as a neutral Power and in enforcing its national tilaws. It was its duty to see to it that no- i Lusilama was not armed for often-1 U- Bive action; that she was not serving s a transport; that she did not carry nis: & cargo prohibited bv the statutes of i)o-t ie United States, and that, if in fact I 25c '""e was a naval vessel of Great Brit- j she should not receive clearance t)0;'?iS a merclm,1'1an; and it performed JV ,I,lty and enforced its statutes (rUh, sor"Pulous vigiiance through its insularly constituted officials. It is J"le, there ore, to assure the imperial impe-rial German government that it has cios:Teen lnisintormed. If the imperial jf oerman go eminent should deem it-j self to lie In possession of convincing evidence that the officials of the government gov-ernment of the United States did not perforin these duties with thoroughness, thorough-ness, the government of the United Slates sincerely hopes that it will submit that evidence for consideration. considera-tion. Arguments Irrelevant. "Whatever may be the contention of the imperial German government regarding re-garding the carriage of contraband of war on board the Lusitania or regarding regard-ing the explosion of Oat material by the torpedo, it need only be said that in the view of this government these contentions are irrelevant to the question ques-tion of the legality of the methods used by the German naval authorities in sinking that vessel. "But the sinking of passenger ships involves principles of humanity which throw into the background any special circumstances of detail that may be thought to affect the cases, principles which lift it, as the imperial government govern-ment will no doubt be quick to recognize recog-nize and acknowledge, out of the class of ordinary 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 wTar, 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 unparalleled unparal-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 re sponsibility rests. "The government of the United States is contending for something much greater than mere rights of 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 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 understacding with the government of 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 this 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 oi me 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 in all cases where Americans have been wronged or their right 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 rep resentations upon the principles of humanity, the universally recognized understandings of international law and the ancient friendship 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 in any degree an abbreviation of the rights either of American shipmasters or of American citizens bound on law ful errands as passengers on merchant ships of belligerent nationality. It does not understand the imperial German Ger-man government to question those rights. It understands it also to ac cept as established beyond question the principle that the lives of non combatants cannot lawfully or right fully he put in jeopardy by the cap ture or destruction of an unresisting merchantman, and to recognize the obligation to take sufficient precaution to ascertain whether a suspected mer chantman is in fact of belligerent na tionalitv or is in fact carrying contra band of war under a neutral flag. "The government of the Unite." States therefore deems it reasonable to expect that the imperial German government will adopt the measures necearv to put these principles intc ; practice "in respect of the safeguard ; I ing of American lives and American ! ships and asks for assurances that I this will he done. I "ROBERT W. LANSING. "Secretary of State d interim." |