The submarine controversy- quickly took on a new form through official orders from the German government to destroy belligerent mer chant ships without the safeguards of capture at sea required by international law. No hail nor detnand for surrender was thought neces sary by the Germans; no chase was required; no examination of the papers to ascertain the character or cargo of the ship; no attempt to put a prize crew on board and send the capture into a German port for the action of a prize court; no opportunity to the crew and passen gers to save their lives was obligatory on the German commanders. These bold deviations from the accepted law of nations could not fail to involve neutral vessels, for no proper precautions were talcen to distinguish between neutrals and belligerents. The Entente Allies at once protested that these methods were illegal and barbarous. The United States was speedily drawn in by the sinlcing of the British ship Falaba in Saint George's Channel (28 March 1915), causing the loss of 111 lives, in cluding an American citizen. On 28 April, the American ship Cushing was attacked by a Ger man airship. On 1 May the American steamer Gulflight was torpedoed without notice. On 2 and 10 April the steamer Greenbriar was de stroyed by a mine near the German Coast On 10 April the Harpalyce, a British ship bearing relief to the Belgians from the United States, was sunk on her return voyage, apparently by a submarine.
Protests were at once lodged and the Ger mans appeared disposed to make some repara tion, when (7 May 1915) the British steamer Lusitania was torpedoed without notice off the Irish Coast, and sank in a few minutes with a loss of 1,195 lives, of whom 114 are believed to have been Atnerican citizens. As soon as the facts were established the United States gov ernment protested. President Wilson in a pub lic address (11 May) tried-to calm the excite ment, saying 'There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight)); but on the same day he completed a note (issued 13 May), abso lutely denying the right to destroy either bellig erent or merchant ships without notice, and calling on Germany to disavow the sinking. The President added, uThe Imperial German Government wll1 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 citiaens and of safeguarding their free exercise and enjoyment)) This was the 'beginning of a long diplomatic controversy. (The principal American dis Ratches are dated 13 May, 9 June and 21 July). To each of these the Germans replied, begin ning with a defense of the sinking of the Lusttania on the general ground of the right to destroy an enemy vessel in the only way that was safe tor the crew of the submarine, and insisting that the Lusitania was a public armed vessel, carrying contraband. The Germans laid
down the doctrine that neutrals who traveled on belligerent ships took their chance of de struction and particularly insisted that Ger tnany had no responsibility to the United States, for a printed notice had been sent out by the German Embassy warning Americans not to take passage on that particular ship.
Secretary Bryan soon found himself out of agreement with the President's strong remon strances and repeated suggestion that such acts would lead to war; and he resigned (9 June 1915). Mr. Robert M. Lansing was appointed Secretary of State, hut from this time it was understood that the vital dispatches on inter .
national questions were drawn by President Wilson. A decision by the Federal District Court of New York (in re Cunard Steamship Company 15 Aug. 1915) held that in fact and law the Lusitania was an unarmed tiler. chant vessel.
i /The main point at issue in the controversy /was the insistence by the United States that submarines must submit to the usual processes of boarding a prize, and must send the capture in for adjudication, unless (as was usually the case in captures by submarines) circumstances made it impossible. Destruction of the ship was only allowable after the crew and passen gers were given a reasonable opportunity of escape. The United States also stood by the principle that, as in times past, neutrals were Kntitled to avail themselves of belligerent mer chant ships for employment or for passage.
In the face of this persistent assertion of rights tht Germans slowly gave way, although the negotiations were interrupted (19 Aug. 1915) by the torpedoing without warning of the British ship Arabic, causing the loss of three American lives; for this act the German government made an apology. On 1 Sept. 1915 the German ambassador filed a memoranduna in Washington in the following words: °Liners will not be sunk by our submarines without warning and without safety of the lives of non combatants, provided that the liners do not try to escape or offer resistance.° This was ac cepted as a German withdrawal from the sub marine policy. On 8 Nov. 1915 the ship Ancona was sunk by an Austrian submarine, and Austria in like manner eventually apologized. During the next few months there were some minor cases, in which the facts were less clear. The controversy blazed up again on the torpedoing without notice of the British packet Stusex in the English Channel (24 March 1916) with loss of American lives. With great reluctance the / German government at last admitted that a v German submarine was responsible and prom ised amends.