The Lusitania's manifest showed she carried for Liverpool 260,000 pounds
of brass; 60,000 pounds of copper; 189 cases of military goods; 1,271
cases of ammunition, and for London, 4,200 cases of cartridges.
Vessels of that kind can be seized and be destroyed under The Hague
rules without any respect to a war zone. The Lusitania was a British
auxiliary cruiser, a man-of-war. On the same day she sailed the
Cameronia, another Cunarder, was commandeered in New York Harbor for
military service.
The fact is that the Lusitania was a British war vessel under orders of
the Admiralty to carry a cargo of contraband of war. The passengers had
had full warning, first by the German note to England in February,
second by advertisement.
Germany wants to do anything reasonable so as not to make the United
States or its citizens suffer in any way. But she cannot do so unless
Americans will take necessary precautions to protect themselves from
dangers of which they are cognizant.
What Germany has done, she has done by way of retaliation after her
offer through President Wilson, regarding submarine warfare, was turned
down and after Britain declared the war was directed toward the
120,000,000 innocent noncombatants, women and children.
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