The Project Gutenberg eBook, New York TimesCurrent History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5,August, 1915, by VariousThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915Author: VariousRelease Date: August 30, 2007 [eBook #22460]Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: ISO-8859-1***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY; THE EUROPEANWAR, VOL 2, NO. 5, AUGUST, 1915*** E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Linda Cantoni,and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team(http://www.pgdp.net) Transcriber's NotesArchaic spellings of place names have been retained as they appear in the original.Portrait illustrations have been moved to relevant places in the text.Because this issue is part of a bound, sequentially paginated volume containing several other issues (availableseparately on Project Gutenberg), page numbers have been omitted from this e-text.A table of contents has been provided for the reader's convenience. The New York Times logoCURRENT HISTORYA MONTHLY MAGAZINETHE EUROPEAN WARAUGUST, 1915CONTENTSTHE LUSITANIA CASEThe American RejoinderGerman and American Press OpinionAustria-Hungary's ProtestArmenian, Orduna, and ...
The Project Gutenberg eBook, New York Times
Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5,
August, 1915, by Various
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915
Author: Various
Release Date: August 30, 2007 [eBook #22460]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY; THE EUROPEAN
WAR, VOL 2, NO. 5, AUGUST, 1915***
E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Linda Cantoni,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)
Transcriber's Notes
Archaic spellings of place names have been retained as they appear in the original.
Portrait illustrations have been moved to relevant places in the text.
Because this issue is part of a bound, sequentially paginated volume containing several other issues (available
separately on Project Gutenberg), page numbers have been omitted from this e-text.
A table of contents has been provided for the reader's convenience.
The New York Times logo
CURRENT HISTORY
A MONTHLY MAGAZINE
THE EUROPEAN WAR
AUGUST, 1915CONTENTS
THE LUSITANIA CASE
The American Rejoinder
German and American Press Opinion
Austria-Hungary's Protest
Armenian, Orduna, and Others
Results of Submarine Warfare
In Memoriam: REGINALD WARNEFORD
American Preparedness
First Year of the War
Inferences from Eleven Months of the European Conflict
"Revenge for Elisabeth!"
A Year of the War in Africa and Asia
An "Insult" to War
The Drive at Warsaw
Naval Losses During the War
Battles in the West
France's "Eyewitness" Reports
The Crown Prince in the Argonne
Gallipoli's Shambles
Italy's War on Austria
The Task of Italy
Two Devoted Nations
Rumania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece
Dr. Conybeare's Recantation
The Case of Muenter
Devotion to the Kaiser
Scientists and the Military
Hudson Maxim on Explosives
Thor!
"I am the Gravest Danger"
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTSThe Belligerents' Munitions
The Power of the Purse
Cases Reserved
New Recruiting in Britain
American War Supplies
Magazinists of the World on the War
Germany's Long-Nourished Powers
"To Avenge"
The Pope, the Vatican, and Italy
Are the Allies Winning?
Selling Arms to the Allies
War and Non-Resistance
"Good Natured Germany"
Italy's Defection
Apologies for English Words
Germanic Peace Terms
France's Bill of Damages
A French Rejoinder
Dr. Von Bode's Polemic
"Carnegie and German Peace"
Russia's Supply of Warriors
Austria and the Balkans
Italy's Publications in War-Time
Sweden and the Lusitania
A Threatened Despotism of Spirit
"Gott Mit Uns"
On the Psychology of Neutrals
Chlorine Warfare
Rheims Cathedral
The English Falsehood
Calais or Suez?
Note on the Principle of Nationality
Singer of "La Marseillaise"Depression—Common-Sense and the Situation
The War and Racial Progress
The English Word, Thought, and Life
Evviva L'Italia
Who Died Content!
"The Germans, Destroyers of Cathedrals"
Chronology of the War
THE LUSITANIA CASEThe American Note to Berlin of July 21
Steps Leading Up to President Wilson’s Rejection
of Germany’s Proposals
HE German Admiralty on Feb. 4 proclaimed a war zone around Great Britain announcing that every enemy merchantT ship found therein would be destroyed "without its being always possible to avert the dangers threatening the crews
and passengers on that account."
The text of this proclamation was made known by Ambassador Gerard on Feb. 6. Four days later the United States
Government sent to Germany a note of protest which has come to be known as the "strict accountability note." After
pointing out that a serious infringement of American rights on the high seas was likely to occur, should Germany carry out
her war-zone decree in the manner she had proclaimed, it declared:
"If such a deplorable situation should arise, the Imperial German Government can readily appreciate that the Government
of the United States would be constrained to hold the Imperial German Government to a strict accountability for such acts
of their naval authorities and to take any steps it might be necessary to take to safeguard American lives and property
and to secure to American citizens the full enjoyment of their acknowledged rights on the high seas."
The war-zone decree went into effect on Feb. 18. Two days later dispatches were cabled to Ambassador Page at
London and to Ambassador Gerard at Berlin suggesting that a modus vivendi be entered into by England and Germany
by which submarine warfare and sowing of mines at sea might be abandoned if foodstuffs were allowed to reach the
German civil population under American consular inspection.
Germany replied to this on March 1, expressing her willingness to act favorably on the proposal. The same day the British
Government stated that because of the war-zone decree of the German Government the British Government must take
measures to prevent commodities of all kinds from reaching or leaving Germany. On March 15 the British Government
flatly refused the modus vivendi suggestion.
On April 4 Count von Bernstorff, the German Ambassador at Washington, submitted a memorandum to the United States
Government regarding German-American trade and the exportation of arms. Mr. Bryan replied to the memorandum on
April 21, insisting that the United States was preserving her strict status of neutrality according to the accepted laws of
nations.
On May 7 the Cunard steamship Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine in the war zone as decreed by Germany,
and more than 100 American citizens perished, with 1,000 other persons on board.
Thereupon, on May 13, the United States transmitted to the German Government a note on the subject of this loss. It said:
"American citizens act within their indisputable rights in taking their ships and in traveling wherever their legitimate
business calls them upon the high seas, and exercise those rights in what should be the well justified confidence that their
lives will not be endangered by acts done in clear violation of universally acknowledged international obligations, and
certainly in the confidence that their own Government will sustain them in the exercise of their rights."
This note concluded:
"The Imperial Government will not expect the Government of the United States to omit any word or any act necessary to
the performance of its sacred duty of maintaining the rights of the United States and its citizens and of safeguarding their
free exercise and enjoyment."
Germany replied to this note on May 29. It stated that it had heard that the Lusitania was an armed naval ship which had
attempted to use American passengers as a protection, and that, anyway, such passengers should not have been
present. It added:
"The German commanders are consequently no longer in a position to observe the rules of capture otherwise usual and
with which they invariably complied before this."
To the foregoing the United States maintained in a note sent to the German Government on June 9 that the Lusitania was
not an armed vessel and that she had sailed in accordance with the laws of the United States, and that "only her actual
resistance to capture or refusal to stop when ordered to do so ... 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."
In support of this view the note cited international law and added:
"It is upon this principle of humanity, as well as upon the law founded upon this principle, that the United States must
stand."
Exactly one month later, on July 9, came Germany's reply. Its preamble praised the United States for its humane attitude
and said that Germany was fully in accord therewith. Something, it asserted, should be done, for "the case of the
Lusitania shows with horrible clearness to what jeopardizing of human lives the manner of conducting war employed by
our adversaries leads," and that under certain conditions which it set forth, American ships might have safe passage
through the war zone, or even some enemy ships flying the American flag. It continued:"The Imperial Government, however, confidently hopes the American Government will assume to guarantee that these
vessels have no contraband on board, details of arrangements for the unhampered passage of these vessels to be
agreed upon by the naval authorities of both sides."
It is to this reply that the note of the United States Government made public on July 24 is an answer.
Germany's reply of July 8 and President Wilson's final rejoinder of July 21—which was given to the American press of
July 24—are presented below, together with accounts of the recent German submarine attacks on the ships Armenian,
Anglo-Californian, Normandy, and Orduna, involving American lives, and an appraisal of the German operations in the
submarine "war zone" since February 18, 1915, when it was proclaimed. Also Austro-Hungary's note of June 29,
protesting against American exports of arms, and an account of American and German press opinion on the Lusitania
case are treated hereunder.
THE GERMAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO
THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR AT BERLIN
BERLIN, July 8, 1915.
The undersigned has the honor to make the following reply to his Excellency Ambassador Gerard to the note of the 10th
ultimo re the impairment of American interests by the German submarine war:
The Imperial Government learned with satisfaction from the note how earnestly the Government of the United States is
concerned in seeing the principles of humanity realized in the present war. Also this appeal finds ready echo in Germany,
and the Imperial Government is quite willing to permit its statements and decisions in the present case to be governed by
the principles of humanity just as it has done always.