Part 35

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German agents were industrious throughout the United States, long before the American Government broke with Germany. Her activities were carried on in the form of propaganda and by more violent deeds. A complete account of these activities as revealed in a congressional investigation follows.

GERMAN ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES

FROM REPORT OF HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

It is with the deepest sense of responsibility of the momentous results which will follow the passage of this resolution that your committee reports it to the House, with the recommendation that it be passed.

The conduct of the Imperial German Government toward this Government, its citizens, and its interests has been so discourteous, unjust, cruel, barbarous, and so lacking in honesty and fair dealing that it has constituted a violation of the course of conduct which should obtain between friendly nations.

In addition to this, the German Government is actually making war upon the people and the commerce of this country, and leaves no course open to this Government but to accept its gage of battle, declare that a state of war exists, and wage that war vigorously.

On the 31st day of January, 1917, notice was given by the Imperial German Government to this Government that after the following day--"Germany will meet the illegal measures of her enemies by forcibly preventing, in a zone around Great Britain, France, Italy, and in the Eastern Mediterranean, all navigation, that of neutrals included, from and to England and from and to France, &c. All ships met within that zone will be sunk."

Since that day seven American ships flying the American flag have been sunk and between twenty-five and thirty American lives have been lost as a result of the prosecution of the submarine warfare in accordance with the above declaration. This is war. War waged by the Imperial German Government upon this country and its people.

A brief review of some of the hostile and illegal acts of the German Government toward this Government and its officers and its people is herewith given.

In the memorial of the Imperial German Government accompanying its proclamation of February 4, 1915, in regard to submarine warfare, that Government declared: "The German Navy has received instructions to abstain from all violence against neutral vessels recognizable as such." In the note of the German Government dated February 16, 1915, in reply to the American note of February 10, it was declared that "It is very far indeed from the intention of the German Government * * * ever to destroy neutral lives and neutral property. * * * The commanders of German submarines have been instructed, as was already stated in the note of the 4th instant, to abstain from violence to American merchant ships when they are recognizable as such."

Nevertheless, the German Government proceeded to carry out its plans of submarine warfare and torpedoed the British passenger steamer Falaba on March 27, 1915, when one American life was lost, attacked the American steamer Cushing April 28 by airship, and made submarine attacks upon the American tank steamer Gulflight May 1, the British passenger steamer Lusitania May 7, when 114 American lives were lost, and the American steamer Nebraskan on May 25, in all of which over 125 citizens of the United States lost their lives, not to mention hundreds of noncombatants who were lost and hundreds of Americans and noncombatants whose lives were put in jeopardy.

The British mule boat Armenian was torpedoed on June 28, as a result of which twenty Americans are reported missing.

On July 8, 1915, in a note to Ambassador Gerard, arguing in defense of its method of warfare and particularly of its submarine commander in the Lusitania case, it is stated:

"The Imperial Government therefore repeats the assurances that American ships will not be hindered in the prosecution of legitimate shipping and the lives of American citizens on neutral vessels shall not be placed in jeopardy.

"In order to exclude any unforeseen dangers to American passenger steamers * * * the German submarines will be instructed to permit the free and safe passage of such passenger steamers when made recognizable by special markings and notified a reasonable time in advance."

Subsequently the following vessels carrying American citizens were attacked by submarines: British liner Orduna, July 9; Russian steamer Leo, July 9; American steamer Leelanaw, July 25; British passenger liner Arabic, August 19; British mule ship Nicosian, August 19; British steamer Hesperian, September 4. In these attacks twenty-three Americans lost their lives, not to mention the large number whose lives were placed in jeopardy.

Following these events, conspicuous by their wantonness and violation of every rule of humanity and maritime warfare, the German Ambassador, by instructions from his Government, on September 1 gave the following assurances to the Government of the United States:

"Liners will not be sunk by our submarines without warning and without safety of the lives of noncombatants, provided that the liners do not try to escape or offer resistance."

On September 9, in a reply as to the submarine attack on the Orduna, the German Government renewed these assurances in the following language:

"The first attack on the Orduna by a torpedo was not in accordance with the existing instructions, which provide that large passenger steamers are to be torpedoed only after previous warning and after the rescuing of passengers and crew. The failure to observe the instructions was based on an error which is at any rate comprehensible and the repetition of which appears to be out of the question, in view of the more explicit instructions issued in the meantime. Moreover, the commanders of the submarines have been reminded that it is their duty to exercise greater care and to observe carefully the orders issued."

The German Government could not more clearly have stated that liners or large passenger steamers would not be torpedoed except upon previous warning and after the passengers and crew had been put in places of safety.

On November 29 the German Government states, in connection with the case of the American vessel William P. Frye:

"The German naval forces will sink only such American vessels as are loaded with absolute contraband, when the preconditions provided by the Declaration of London are present. In this the German Government quite shares the view of the American Government that all possible care must be taken for the security of the crew and passengers of a vessel to be sunk. Consequently the persons found on board of a vessel may not be ordered into her lifeboats except when the general conditions--that is to say, the weather, the condition of the sea, and the neighborhood of the coasts--afford absolute certainty that the boats will reach the nearest port."

Following this accumulative series of assurances, however, there seems to have been no abatement in the rigor of submarine warfare, for attacks were made in the Mediterranean upon the American steamer Communipaw on December 3, the American steamer Petrolite December 5, the Japanese liner Yasaka Maru December 21, and the passenger liner Persia December 30. In the sinking of the Persia out of a total of some 500 passengers and crew only 165 were saved. Among those lost was an American Consul traveling to his post.

On January 7, eight days after the sinking of the Persia, the German Government notified the Government of the United States through its Ambassador in Washington as follows:

"1. German submarines in the Mediterranean had, from the beginning, orders to conduct cruiser warfare against enemy merchant vessels only in accordance with the general principles of international law, and in particular measures of reprisal, as applied in the war zone around the British Isles, were to be excluded.

"2. German submarines are therefore permitted to destroy enemy merchant vessels in the Mediterranean, i. e., passenger as well as freight ships as far as they do not try to escape or offer resistance--only after passengers and crews have been accorded safety."