THE LANSING PAPERS, 1914-1920, VOLUME I



them with the utmost frankness and in the earnest hope that it is
not mistaken in expecting action on the part of the Imperial German
Government which will correct the unfortunate impressions which
have been created and vindicate once more the position of that Gov-
ernment with regard to the sacred freedom of the seas.]
  The Government of the United States has been apprised that [of the
feeling of] the Imperial German Government considered themselves
to be [that it has been] obliged by the extraordinary circumstances of
the present war and the [drastic] measures adopted by their [of its]
adversaries in seeking to cut [its coasts] off Germany from all com-
merce, to adopt methods of retaliation which go much beyond the
ordinary methods of warfare at sea, in the proclamation of a war
zone [from] which it has warned neutral ships to avoid. [keep away.
But the waters of that zone touch the coasts of many neutral nations,
and] This Government has already informed [had the honor of in-
forming] the Imperial German Government that it cannot admit the
adoption of such measures or such a warning of danger to operate as
in any degree an abbreviation of the rights of American ship masters
or of American citizens bound on lawful errands as passengers on mer-
chant ships of belligerent nationality [ownership]; and that it must
hold the Imperial German Government to a strict accountability for
any infringement of those rights. [, direct or incidental. It does not
understand the Imperial German Government to question those
rights.] It assumes [is confident, on the contrary,] that the Imperial
German Government accept[s, as of course,] the rule that the lives of
non-combatants, whether they be of neutral citizenship or citizens of
one of the nations at war, cannot lawfully or rightfully be put in
jeopardy by the capture or destruction of an unresisting [unarmed]
merchantman, and recognize[s] also, as all other nations do, the
obligation to take the usual precaution of visit and search to ascer-
tain whether a suspected merchantman is in fact of belligerent
nationality [ownership] or is in fact carrying contraband of war
under a neutral flag.
  The Government of the United States, therefore, calls [takes the
liberty of calling] the attention of the Imperial German Government
with the utmost earnestness to the fact that the objection to their
[danger of its] present method of attack against the trade of their [its]
enemies lies in the practical impossibility of employing submarines
in the destruction of commerce without disregarding those [in con-
formity with what all modern opinion regards as the imperative] rules
of fairness, reason, justice, and humanity, which the civilized world
regards as imperative. It is practically impossible for the officers of
a submarine to visit a merchantman at sea and examine her papers
and cargo. It is practically impossible for them to make a prize of



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