[Cheers.]
Germany and the Lusitania
By Charles W. Eliot
_President Emeritus of Harvard University._
That the sinking of the Lusitania was an act which outraged
not only the existing conventions of the civilized world but
the moral feelings of present civilized society is the view
put forth in his letter to THE NEW YORK TIMES, appearing May
15, 1915, by one of the most distinguished commentators on the
war. Dr. Eliot counsels that America's part is to resist such
a no-faith policy while keeping its neutral status.
Cambridge, Mass., May 13, 1915.
_To the Editor of The New York Times:_
The sinking of a great merchant vessel, carrying 2,500 noncombatant men,
women, and children, without giving them any chance to save their lives,
was in violation of long-standing conventions among civilized nations,
concerning the conduct of naval warfare. The pre-existing conventions
gave to a German vessel of war the right to destroy the Lusitania and
her cargo, if it were impossible to carry her into port as a prize; but
not to drown her passengers and crew. The pre-existing conventions or
agreements were, however, entered into by the civilized nations when
captures at sea were made by war vessels competent to take a prize into
some port, or to take off the passengers and crew of the captured
vessel.
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