Several days usually have been required for messages to come
to Washington from Ambassador Gerard, by roundabout cable relay route,
and it is believed that this dispatch is no exception in this respect._
DR. DERNBURG'S DEFENSE.
_The sinking of the Lusitania as a man-of-war was justified by Dr.
Bernhard Dernburg, late German Colonial Secretary and recognized as
quasi-official spokesman of the German Imperial Government in the United
States, in a statement issued in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 8, 1915. The
statement reads:_
Great Britain declared the North Sea a war zone in the Winter. No
protest was made by the United States or any neutral. Great Britain held
up all neutral ships carrying non-contraband goods, detaining them,
buying or confiscating their cargoes.
Great Britain constantly changed the contraband lists, so no foodstuffs
of any kind have actually reached Germany since the war began.
International law says foodstuffs destined for the civil population must
pass. It does not recognize any right to starve out a whole people.
As a consequence, and in retaliation, Germany declared the waters around
England a war zone, and started a submarine warfare.
Pages:
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78