(If the commander of the German submarine which destroyed the Lusitasea, the note con tinued, °had caused the crew ami passengers to take to the boats before firing a torpedo this would have meant the sure dextruction of his own vessel. After the experiences in sinking much smaller and less seaworthy vessels, it was bo be expected that a mighty ship like the Laisikinits would remain above water long enough even after the torpedoing to permit pas sengers to. enter the ship's boats. Circumstances of a very peculiar kind, especially the presence on board of large quantities of highly explosive materials, defeated this expectation. In addi tion, it may be pointed out that if the Lusitanis had been spared, thousands of cases of muni tions would have been sent to Germany's ene mies and thereby thousands of German mothers and children robbed of brmul winners.° In Amerita the note was bitterly ccrndemned. °The fact that the Germans have thrice re sponded to the demands of the United States with evasive notes,* said one journal, °that they have with such scant courtesy as to border upon insuk neglected the dentands of the United States for reparation for the Lasitaxia incident, and have offered nothing as to the future pro tection for American interests which the Urutecl States can consider with dignity or safety, has not failed to impress itself upon the America!' mind.* President Wilson replied in a note of 21 July 1915. He declared the German note gunsatis factory because it fails to meet the real differ ences between the two governments, and indi cates no way in which the accepted principles of law and humanity may be applied in the grave matter in controversy, but proposes, on the contrary, arrangements for a partial sus pension of those principles which virtually set them aside. . — 4Illegal and inhuman acts, however justifi able they may be thought to be against an enemy who is believed to have acted in contra vention of law and humanity, are manifestly indefensible when they deprive neutrals of their acknowledged rights, particularly when they vio late the right of life itself.* The note closed with a warning. 6Friend ship itself prompts* this government °to say to the Imperial German Government that repeti tions by the commanders of German naval ves sels of acts in contravention of those rights must be regarded by the Government of the United States, when they affect American citizens, as deliberately unfriendly.* While the relations between the two nations were thus strained, news reached America that the British liner Arabic, while on her way from England to New York, had been torpedoed off the coast of Ireland, and had gone down with a loss of 44 persons, two of whotn were Ameri can citizens. Sinee the vessel had not been warned, since it carried no ammunition, the sinking seemed clearly to come within. the President's definition of au act (deliberately unfriendly to the United States.* Many people expected that diplomatic relations would be broken off without fluther delay.
After a careful investigation of the incident Ambassador Page made a report to die govern ment at Washington. From the evklence at hand it appeared that the Arabic had made no attempt to escape, had offered no resistance, bad not tried to ram the submarine, alai that the torpedo ha.d botn discharged without warning.
The seriousneas of the issue seems at last to have alarmed the German government and a decision was reached to modify the submarine campaign to conform if possible to the Presi dent's wishes. On 1 September Ambassador von Beinstorff sent Secretary of State Lansing a note foreshadowing Germany's action. 4With reference to our conversation this morning,* he said, 4I beg to inform you that my instruc tions conceraing our answer to your last LAW tania note contains the following passage: (Lin ers will not be sunk by our submarines without warning and without safety to the lives of non combatants, provided that the liners do not try to escape or offer resistance.> Although I know that you do not wish to discuss the Lusitania question until the Arabic incident has been definitely and satisfactorily settled, I de sire to inform you of the above because this policy of my Government was decided on be fore the Arabic incident occurred.*
Despite this assurance, the German govern ment, after an inquiry of its own into the sinking of the Arabic, refused to admit any obli gation or grant any indemnity in the matter. The report of the conunander of the submarine showed that the Arabic had apparently at tempted to ram his vessel and that he had discharged the torpedo Arithont warning to es cape being himself sunk. But, continued the note, *the German Goverrunent is unable, how ever, to acknowledge any obligation to grant inderrtnity in the matter, even if the commander should have been mistaken as to the aggres sive intentions of the Arabic)) From this position, however, the Imperial govenunent soon retreated, and on 5 Oct. 1915, Count von Bernstorff informed Secretary Lans ing that such stringent orders had been issued to submarine commanders as to malce a recurrence of cases similar to dud of the Arabic out of the question. In regard to the Arabic sinking itself, Germany regretted and disavowed the act, had sb notified Captain Schneider, the com mander of the submarine, and would pay indem nity for the loss of American lives. On 7 Nov. 1915, the situation was complkated by the sink ing of the Ancona, an Italian liner, by an Aus trian submarine. The Ancona attempted to es cape, but when fired upon and hit, stopped its engines. The vessel sank quickly and over 200 persons were lost, among them being nine Americans. Secretary Lansing made a demand for reparation and disavowal. Information at hand showed, he said, that after the veSsel had stopped and before all the crew and passengers could take to the boats, she had been torpedoed and shelled, and that by drowning and gunfire American citizens had lost their lives. The con duct of the sulnnarine commander could only be *characterized a wanton slaughter of defense less noncombatants." The United States there fore demanded that the officer be punished and that reparation be made for the American citi zens killed or injured.
The Austro-Hungarian government replied 15 Dec. 1915. The note was evasive, and in tone calmly insolent The United States gov ernment had blamed the submarine commander sharply, it said, but had failed to specify upon what evidence it based its conclusions. Aus tria-Hungary was in no way concerned with the attitude of the United States gtwernment in regard to submarine warfare as expressed in its notes to Gennany, and could not be ex pected to shape its policies in conformity thereto. No reference whatever was made to the demand for reparation, disavowal and pun ishment for the submarine commander.
Secretary Lansing, on 19 Dec. 1915, an swered this note. Baron Zwiedinelc, he said the Austrian Charge d'Affaires, had transmitted a report of the Austro-Hungarian Admiralty it self on the sinlcing. In this report it was ad Mined that the vessel had been torpedoed after it had come to a stop and while passengers were still on board. This admission was enough to fix on the commander of the submarine the responsibility for having violated willfully the laws of nations. ((The Government of the United States therefore finds no other course open to it, but to hold the Imperial and Royal Government responsible for the act of its naval commander and to renew the definite but re spectful demands made in its communication of the sixth of December.* The Austro-Hungarian government, prob ably inspired from Berlin, now surrendered, and in a note of 29 December, agreed that hostile private ships, in so far as they did not flee or offer resistance, *may not be destroyed until the persons on board have been placed in safety," and announced that the officer who had sunk the Ancona had been punished, and prom ised indemnity, On 24 March 1916, the Sussex, a French passenger steamer, was torpedoed without warn ing in the Channel, and although she kept afloat, some 90 persons were killed or wounded. The Sussex had never been used as a troop ship and carried no armament. An examination of the hull of the vessel by American officials established the fact that it had been a German made torpedo and not a mine that had caused the explosion.