Note 3 — PRESIDENT WILSON’S REPLY TO BERLIN

The reference made by President Wilson in his first note of May 13 to the German Government regarding the sinking of the Lusitania to the "humane and enlightened attitude hitherto assumed by the Imperial German Government in matters of international right, and particularly with regard to the freedom of the seas," was based, it was learned in Washington on June 12, upon the instructions of Aug. 3, 1914, which the German Government sent to its naval commanders. These German rules are now in the possession of the State Department. While no mention is made in them of submarine warfare, the extent and method of the exercise of the right of search and the stoppage of ships is prescribed with great nicety, and provision is made for the safety of passengers and crew. After outlining the purpose of visiting and searching vessels, the regulations state:

All measures are to be carried out in a form whose observance, even against the enemy, will comport with the dignity of the German Empire and with a regard for neutrals conformable to the usages of international law and the German interest.

The method of signaling ships to be halted is prescribed, and it is directed that "two successive blank charges are to be fired, and, if necessary, a shotted charge over the ship" if the signals are not obeyed. "If the ship does not then stop or makes resistance, the Captain will compel her to stop," the instructions continue. After specifying what ships may be captured and destroyed, the regulations continue:

Before destruction all persons on board, if possible with their personal effects, are to be placed in safety and all the ship's papers and other articles of evidence, which in the opinion of the interested parties are of value for the judgment of the prize court, are to be taken over by the Captain.