esty's Government is said to intend to adopt, would, if the declaration of the German Admiralty is put in force, it seems clear, afford no protection to British vessels, while it would be a serious and constant menace to the lives and vessels of American citizens." A failure to comply with this request would "impose upon the Government of Great Britain a measure of responsibility for the loss of American lives and vessels in case of an attack by a German naval force." 8

The practice of using the neutral flag was formerly quite common, and warships are permitted to assume colors other than their own, so long as they raise their true flags before going into action. Great Britain's reply, made on February 19th, said that the British shipping act permitted the use of the British flag by foreign merchant vessels for the purpose of escaping capture; that other nations had similar legislation; that Union merchant ships during the American Civil War had availed themselves

This protest (February 10th) is an additional indication that the American "strict accountability'' note of the same day was more concerned with the safety of American vessels than with the safety of American citizens on enemy vessels.

of this privilege, and that it would be unreasonable to expect the British Government to enact legislation forbidding the use of foreign flags by her vessels. In the case of the Lusitania American passengers had requested that the flag be raised and this was done without any advice from the Government. The communication then proceeded to state correctly certain fundamental principles of international law:

"Now that the German Government have announced their intention to sink merchant vessels at sight, with their noncombatant crews, cargoes, and papers, a proceeding hitherto regarded by the opinion of the world not as war, but as piracy, it is felt that the United States Government could not fairly ask the British Government to order British merchant vessels to forego the means-always hitherto permitted-of escaping not only capture but the much worse fate of sinking and destruction. ...

"The obligation upon a belligerent warship to ascertain definitely for itself the nationality and character of a merchant vessel before capturing it, and a fortiori before sinking and destroying it, has been universally recognized. If that obligation is fulfilled, hoisting a neutral flag on board a British vessel can not possibly endanger neutral shipping; and the British Government hold that if loss to neutrals

is caused by disregard of this obligation, it is upon the enemy vessel disregarding it and upon the Government giving orders that it should be disregarded that the sole responsibility for injury to neutrals ought to rest."

This is a perfectly accurate statement of the recognized international rules. If the flag of the United States was never used as a ruse de guerre, American interests could not be involved, through "an unfortunate mistake" by the submarine warfare. But the rules, not only of international law but also of humanity, put war vessels under an obligation to examine a merchant ship before capturing it, and in case exceptional circumstances justify its destruction, to put the passengers and crew in places of safety before this may be done. Germany has no right to sink an English merchant vessel without warning and without safeguarding the lives of noncombatants, and one cannot, therefore, reach any conclusion other than that the abandonment by British ships of the use of the American flag would make it possible for Germany to violate international law with impunity, so far as American interests were con

cerned, except in cases where American property or citizens were on board of the British ship. And if British insistence upon the right to use the American flag would contribute to compelling the submarine to make an examination and to take care of the passengers and crew in order not to affect neutrals, then it was justified on this basis, apart from its legality. The ground of the German protest, to repeat, was that the submarines should be permitted to violate international law with reduced chances of affecting the United States; and the ground of the American protest was that by the relinquishment on the part of British ships of the use of the American flag the chances of American interests being affected would be more remote.

CHAPTER IV

THE "LUSITANIA" AND OTHER OUTRAGES

AMERICAN rights were first infringed on March 28th when the British steamer Falaba was sunk by a German submarine and an American citizen-Leon C. Thrasher-was drowned. Just a month later, the American ship Cushing was attacked by a German aeroplane, but no loss of life was occasioned. On May 1st, however, the American vessel Gulflight was torpedoed by a submarine and three American citizens met their death. Finally, on May 7th, the Lusitania was sunk without warning, and more than one thousand innocent men, women and children were killed, more than one hundred of them being American citizens.

The United States and Germany had already had some correspondence over the sinking, on January 27th, of the American ship William P. Frye by the German auxiliary cruiser Prinz