been the intention of the Government of the republic to extend the
action of its cruisers against enemy merchandise beyond the European
seas, the Mediterranean included."
SHARP.
British Order in Council
Declaring a Blockade of German Ports
_LONDON, March 15.--The British Order in Council decreeing retaliatory
measures on the part of the Government to meet the declaration of the
Germans that the waters surrounding the United Kingdom are a military
area, was made public today. The text of the order follows:_
Whereas, the German Government has issued certain orders which, in
violation of the usages of war, purport to declare that the waters
surrounding the United Kingdom are a military area in which all British
and allied merchant vessels will be destroyed irrespective of the safety
and the lives of the passengers and the crews, and in which neutral
shipping will be exposed to similar danger in view of the uncertainties
of naval warfare, and
Whereas, in the memorandum accompanying the said orders, neutrals are
warned against intrusting crews, passengers, or goods to British or
allied ships, and
Whereas, such attempts on the part of the enemy give to his Majesty an
unquestionable right of retaliation; and
Whereas, his Majesty has therefore decided to adopt further measures in
order to prevent commodities of any kind from reaching or leaving
Germany, although such measures will be enforced without risk to neutral
ships or to neutral or non-combatant life and in strict observance of
the dictates of humanity; and
Whereas, the allies of his Majesty are associated with him in the steps
now to be announced for restricting further the commerce of Germany, his
Majesty is therefore pleased by and with the advice of his Privy Council
to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:
First--No merchant vessel which sailed from her port of departure after
March 1, 1915, shall be allowed to proceed on her voyage to any German
port. Unless this vessel receives a pass enabling her to proceed to some
neutral or allied port to be named in the pass, the goods on board any
such vessel must be discharged in a British port and placed in custody
of the Marshal of the prize court. Goods so discharged, if not
contraband of war, shall, if not requisitioned for the use of his
Majesty, be restored by order of the court and upon such terms as the
court may in the circumstances deem to be just to the person entitled
thereto.
Second--No merchant vessel which sailed from any German port after March
1, 1915, shall be allowed to proceed on her voyage with any goods on
board laden at such port. All goods laden at such port must be
discharged in a British or allied port. Goods so discharged in a British
port shall be placed in the custody of the Marshal of the prize court,
and if not requisitioned for the use of his Majesty shall be detained or
sold under the direction of the prize court.
The proceeds of the goods so sold shall be paid into the court and dealt
with in such a manner as the court may in the circumstances deem to be
just, provided that no proceeds of the sale of such goods shall be paid
out of the court until the conclusion of peace, except on the
application of a proper officer of the Crown, unless it be shown that
the goods had become neutral property before the issue of this order,
and provided also that nothing herein shall prevent the release of
neutral property, laden at such enemy port, on the application of the
proper officer of the Crown.
Third--Every merchant vessel which sailed from her port of departure
after March 1, 1915, on her way to a port other than a German port and
carrying goods with an enemy destination, or which are enemy property,
may be required to discharge such goods in a British or allied port. Any
goods so discharged in a British port shall be placed in the custody of
the Marshal of the prize court, and unless they are contraband of war
shall, if not requisitioned for the use of his Majesty, be restored by
an order of the court upon such terms as the court may in the
circumstances deem to be just to the person entitled thereto, and
provided that this article shall not apply in any case falling within
Article 2 or 4 of this order.
Fourth--Every merchant vessel which sailed from a port other than a
German port after March 1, 1915, and having on board goods which are of
enemy origin, or are enemy property, may be required to discharge such
goods in a British or allied port. Goods so discharged in a British port
shall be placed in the custody of the Marshal of the prize court, and,
if not requisitioned for the use of his Majesty, shall be detained or
sold under the direction of the prize court. The proceeds of the goods
so sold shall be paid into the court and be dealt with in such a manner
as the court may in the circumstances deem to be just, provided that no
proceeds of the sale of such goods shall be paid out of the court until
the conclusion of peace except on the application of a proper officer of
the Crown, unless it be shown that the goods had become neutral property
before the issue of this order, and provided also that nothing herein
shall prevent the release of neutral property of enemy origin on
application of the proper officer of the Crown.
Fifth--Any person claiming to be interested in or to have any claim in
respect of any goods not being contraband of war placed in the custody
of the Marshal of the prize court under this order, or in the proceeds
of such goods, may forthwith issue a writ in the prize court against the
proper officer of the Crown and apply for an order that the goods
should be restored to him, or that their proceeds should be paid to him,
or for such other order as the circumstances of the case may require.
The practice and procedure of the prize court shall, so far as
applicable, be followed mutatis mutandis in any proceedings
consequential upon this order.
Sixth--A merchant vessel which has cleared for a neutral port from a
British or allied port, or which has been allowed to pass as having an
ostensible destination to a neutral port and proceeds to an enemy port,
shall, if captured on any subsequent voyage be liable to condemnation.
Seventh--Nothing in this order shall be deemed to affect the liability
of any vessel or goods to capture or condemnation independently of this
order.
Eighth--Nothing in this order shall prevent the relaxation of the
provisions of this order in respect of the merchant vessels of any
country which declares that no commerce intended for or originating in
Germany, or belonging to German subjects, shall enjoy the protection of
its flag.
Germany's Submarine War
LONDON, March 13.--The Admiralty announced tonight that the British
collier Invergyle was torpedoed today off Cresswell, England, and sunk.
All aboard were saved.
This brings the total British losses of merchantmen and fishing vessels,
either sunk or captured during the war, up to 137. Of these ninety were
merchant ships and forty-seven were fishing craft.
A further submarine casualty today was the torpedoing of the Swedish
steamer Halma off Scarborough, and the loss of the lives of six of her
crew.
The Admiralty announces that since March 10 seven British merchant
steamers have been torpedoed by submarines. Two of them, it is stated,
were sunk, and of two others it is said that "the sinking is not
confirmed." Three were not sunk.
The two steamers officially reported sunk were the Invergyle and the
Indian City, which was torpedoed off the Scilly Islands on March 12. The
crew of the Indian City was reported rescued.
The two steamers whose reported sinking is not yet officially confirmed
are the Florazan, which was torpedoed at the mouth of the Bristol
Channel on March 11, all of her crew being landed at Milford Haven, with
the exception of one fireman, and the Andalusian, which was attacked off
the Scilly Islands on March 12. The crew of the Andalusian is reported
to have been rescued.
The Adenwen was torpedoed in the English Channel on March 11, and has
since been towed into Cherbourg. Her crew was landed at Brisham.
The steamer Headlands was torpedoed on March 12 off the Scilly Islands.
It is reported that her crew was saved. The steamer Hartdale was
torpedoed on March 13 off South Rock, in the Irish Channel. Twenty-one
of her crew were picked up and two were lost.
Supplementary to the foregoing the Admiralty tonight issued a report
giving the total number of British merchant and fishing vessels lost
through hostile action from the outbreak of the war to March 10. The
statement says that during that period eighty-eight merchant vessels
were sunk or captured. Of these fifty-four were victims of hostile
cruisers, twelve were destroyed by mines, and twenty-two by submarines.
Their gross tonnage totaled 309,945.
In the same period the total arrivals and sailings of overseas steamers
of all nationalities of more than 300 tons net were 4,745.
Forty-seven fishing vessels were sunk or captured during this time.
Nineteen of these were blown up by mines and twenty-eight were captured
by hostile craft. Twenty-four of those captured were caught on Aug. 26,
when the Germans raided a fishing fleet.
[Illustration: Dotted portion indicates the limits of "War Zone" defined
in the German order which became effective Feb. 18, 1915.]
German People Not Blinded
By Karl Lamprecht
[Published in New York by the German Information Service, Feb. 3, 1915.]
Denying flatly that the German people were swept blindly and
ignorantly into the war by the headlong ambitions of their
rulers--the view advanced by Dr. Charles W. Eliot, President
Emeritus of Harvard University, and Dr. Nicholas Murray
Butler, President of Columbia--Dr. Karl Lamprecht, Professor
of History in the University of Leipsic and world-famous
German historian, has addressed the open letter which appears
below to the two distinguished American scholars. Dr.
Lamprecht asserts that under the laws which govern the German
Empire the people as citizens have a deciding will in affairs
of state and that Germany is engaged in the present conflict
because the sober judgment of the German people led them to
resort to arms.
_Dr. C.W. Eliot, President Emeritus of Harvard University; Dr. N.M.
Butler, President of Columbia University._
Gentlemen: I feel confident that you are not in ignorance of my regard
and esteem for the great American Republic and its citizens. They have
been freely expressed on many occasions and have taken definite form in
the journal of my travels through the United States, published in the
booklet "Americana," 1905.
My sentiments and my judgment have not changed since 1905. I now refer,
gentlemen, to the articles and speeches which you have published about
my country and which have aroused widespread interest. I will not
criticise your utterances one by one. If I did that I might have to
speak on occasion with a frankness that would be ungracious, considering
the fine appreciation which both of you still feel for old Germany. It
would be specially ungracious toward you, President Eliot, for in quite
recent times you honored me by your ready help in my scientific labors.
All I want to do is to remove a few fundamental errors--in fact, only
one. I feel in duty bound to do so, since many well-disposed Americans
share that error.
The gravest and perhaps most widely spread misconception about us
Germans is that we are the serfs of our Princes. (Fuerstenknechte,)
servile and dependent in political thought. That false notion has
probably been dispelled during the initial weeks of the present war.
With absolute certainty the German Nation, with one voice and
correctly, diagnosed the political situation without respect to party or
creed and unanimously and of its own free will acted.
But this misconception is so deep rooted that more extended discussion
is needed. I pass on to other matters.
The essential point is that public opinion have free scope of
development. Every American will admit that. Now, public opinion finds
its expression in the principles that govern the use of the suffrage.
The German voting system is the freest in the world, much freer than the
French, English, or American system, because not only does it operate in
accordance with the principle that every one shall have a direct and
secret vote, but the powers of the State are exercised faithfully and
conscientiously to carry out that principle in practice. The
constitutional life of the German Nation is of a thoroughly democratic
character.
Those who know that were not surprised that our Social Democrats marched
to war with such enthusiasm. Already among their ranks many have fallen
as heroes, never to be forgotten by any German when his thoughts turn to
the noble blood which has saturated foreign soil--thank God, foreign
soil! Many of the Socialist leaders and adherents are wearing the Iron
Cross, that simple token that seems to tell you when you speak of its
bearer, "Now, this is a fearless and faithful soul."
Let it be said once and for all: He who wants to understand us must
accept our conception that constitutionally we enjoy so great a
political freedom that we would not change with any country in the
world. Everybody in America knows that our manners and customs have been
democratic for centuries, while in France and England they have been
ever aristocratic. Americans, we know, always feel at home on German
soil.
But the Kaiser, you will say, speaks of "his monarchy," therefore must
the Germans be Fuerstenknechte, (servants of Princes.)
First of all, as to the phrase "Fuerstenknechte." Does not the King of
England speak of his "subjects"? That word irritates a German, because
he is conscious that he is not a subject, but a citizen of the empire.
Yet he will not infer from the English King's use of the term in formal
utterances that an Englishman is a churl, a "servant of his King." That
would be a superficial political conception.
As to our Princes, most of us, including the Social Democrats, are glad
in our heart of hearts that we have them. As far back as our history
runs, and that is more than 2,000 years, we have had Princes. They have
never been more than their name, "Fuerst," implies, the first and
foremost of German freemen, "primi inter pares." Therefore they have
never acted independently, never without taking the people into counsel.
That would have been contrary to the most important fundamental
principles of German law; hence our people have never been "de jure"
without their representatives. Even in the times of absolute monarchy
the old "estates of the realm" had their being as a representative body,
and wherever and whenever these privileges were suppressed it was
regarded as a violation of our fundamental rights and is so still
regarded.
Our princely houses are as old as our monasteries, our cities, and our
cathedrals. A thousand years ago the Guelphs were a celebrated family,
and the Wettins have ruled over their lands for eight centuries. In the
twelfth century the Wittelsbachs and Thuringians were Princes under the
great Kaisers of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Among these great families
the Hapsburgs (thirteenth century) and the Hohenzollerns (fifteenth
century) are quite young. All have their roots in Germany and belong to
the country.
We glory in our Princes. They link our existence with the earliest
centuries of our history. They preserve for us the priceless
independence of our small home States.
We are accused of militarism. What is this new and terrible crime? Since
the years of the wars of liberation against France and Napoleon we have
had what amounts practically to universal conscription. Only two
generations later universal suffrage was introduced. The nation has been
sternly trained by its history in the ways of discipline and
self-restraint. Germans are very far from mistaking freedom for license
and independence for licentiousness.
Germany has a long past. She enjoys the inheritance of an original and
priceless civilization. She holds clearly formulated ideals. To the
future she has all this to bequeath and, in addition, the intellectual
wealth of her present stage of development. Consider Germany's
contributions to the arts, the poetical achievements of the period of
Schiller and Goethe, the music of Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven; the thought systems of Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel!
The last decade has reawakened these great men in the consciousness of
the German Nation. Enriched by the consciousness and message of an
intellectual past, our people were moving forward to new horizons.
At that moment the war hit us. If you could only have lived these weeks
in Germany I do not doubt that what you would have seen would have led
your ripe experience to a fervent faith in a Divinely guided future of
mankind. The great spiritual movement of 1870, when I was a boy growing
up, was but a phantom compared to July and August of 1914. Germany was a
nation stirred by the most sacred emotions, humble and strong, filled
with just wrath and a firm determination to conquer--a nation
disciplined, faithful, and loving.
In that disposition we have gone to war and still fight. As for the
slanders of which we have been the victims, ask the thousands of
Frenchmen who housed German soldiers in 1870 and 1871, or ask the
Belgians of Ghent and Bruges! They will give you a different picture of
the "Furor Teutonicus." They will tell you that the "raging German"
generally is a good-natured fellow, ever ready for service and sympathy,
who, like Parsifal, gazes forth eagerly into a strange world which the
war has opened to his loyal and patriotic vision.
KARL LAMPRECHT.
REVEILLE
By JOHN GALSWORTHY.
[From King Albert's Book.]
In my dream I saw a fertile plain, rich with the hues of Autumn.
Tranquil it was and warm. Men and women, children, and the beasts worked
and played and wandered there in peace. Under the blue sky and the white
clouds low-hanging, great trees shaded the fields; and from all the land
there arose a murmur as from bees clustering on the rose-colored
blossoms of tall clover. And, in my dream, I roamed, looking into every
face, the faces of prosperity, broad and well favored--of people living
in a land of plenty, of people drinking of the joy of life, caring
nothing for the morrow. But I could not see their eyes, that seemed ever
cast down, gazing at the ground, watching the progress of their feet
over the rich grass and the golden leaves already fallen from the trees.
The longer I walked among them the more I wondered that never was I
suffered to see the eyes of any, not even of the little children, not
even of the beasts. It was as if ordinance had gone forth that their
eyes should be banded with invisibility.
While I mused on this, the sky began to darken. A muttering of distant
winds and waters came traveling. The children stopped their play, the
beasts raised their heads; men and women halted and cried to each other:
"The River--the River is rising! If it floods, we are lost! Our beasts
will drown; we, even we, shall drown! The River!" And women stood like
things of stone, listening; and men shook their fists at the black sky
and at that traveling mutter of the winds and waters; and the beasts
sniffed at the darkening air.
Then, clear, I heard a Voice call: "Brothers! The dike is breaking! The
River comes! Link arms, brothers; with the dike of our bodies we will
save our home! Sisters, behind us, link arms! Close in the crevices,
children! The River!" And all that multitude, whom I had seen treading
quietly the grass and fallen leaves with prosperous feet, came hurrying,
their eyes no longer fixed on the rich plain, but lifted in trouble and
defiance, staring at that rushing blackness. And the Voice called:
"Hasten, brothers! The dike is broken. The River floods!"
And they answered: "Brother, we come!"
Thousands and thousands they pressed, shoulder to shoulder--men, women,
and children, and the beasts lying down behind, till the living dike was
formed. And that blackness came on, nearer, nearer, till, like the
whites of glaring eyes, the wave crests glinted in the dark rushing
flood. And the sound of the raging waters was as a roar from a million
harsh mouths.
But the Voice called: "Hold, brothers! Hold!"
And from the living dike came answer: "Brother! We hold!"
Then the sky blackened to night. And the terrible dark water broke on
that dike of life; and from all the thin living wall rose such cry of
struggle as never was heard.
But above it ever the Voice called: "Hold! My brave ones, hold!"
And ever the answer came from those drowning mouths, of men and women,
of little children and the very beasts: "Brother! We hold!" But the
black flood rolled over and on. There, down in its dark tumult, beneath
its cruel tumult, I saw men still with arms linked; women on their
knees, clinging to earth; little children drifting--dead, all dead; and
the beasts dead. And their eyes were still open facing that death. And
above them the savage water roared. But clear and high I heard the Voice
call: "Brothers! Hold! Death is not! We live!"
Can Germany Be Starved Out?
An Answer by Sixteen German Specialists[1]
[Footnote 1: Die Deutsche Volksernährung und der Englische
Aushungerungsplan. Eine Denkschrift von Friedrich Aereboe, Karl Ballod,
Franz Beyschlag, Wilhelm Caspari, Paul Eltzbacher, Hedwig Heyl, Paul
Krusch, Robert Kuczynski, Kurt Lehmann, Otto Lemmermann, Karl
Oppenheimer, Max Rubner, Kurt von Rümker, Bruno Tacke, Hermann Warmbold,
und Nathan Zuntz. Herausgegeben von Paul Eltzbacher. (Friedr. Vieweg and
Sohn. Braunschweig. 1914.)]
[From The Annalist of New York, March 1, 1915.]
BERLIN, Feb. 1, 1915.
Probably the most interesting economic problem in the world at this
moment is whether England can succeed in starving out Germany. While the
world at large is chiefly interested in the vast political issues
involved, the question interests the Germans not only from that
standpoint, but also--and how keenly!--from the mere bread-and-butter
standpoint. For if Germany cannot feed its own population during the
long war that its foes are predicting with so much assurance, her defeat
is only a question of time.
That the German Government is keenly aware of the dangers of the
situation is evident from the rigorous measures that it has taken to
conserve and economize the food supply. After having fixed maximum
prices for cereals soon after the war began, the Government last week
decided to requisition and monopolize all the wheat and rye in the
country, and allow the bakers to sell only a limited quantity of bread
(2.2 pounds per capita a week) to each family. It had previously taken
measures to restrict the consumption of cereals for other purposes than
breadmaking; the feeding of rye was prohibited and its use in producing
alcohol was restricted by 40 per cent.; a percentage of potato flour was
ordered added to rye flour, and of the latter to wheat flour in making
bread. These are but a few of the economic measures adopted by the
Government since the outbreak of the war.
The general opinion of the people in Germany is that the country cannot
be starved out, and this opinion is asserted with a great deal of
patriotic fervor, particularly by newspaper editors. The leading
scientists of the country, moreover, have taken up the question in a
thoroughgoing way and investigated it in all its bearings. A little book
("Die Deutsche Volksernährung und der Englische Aushungerungsplan") has
just been issued, giving the conclusions of sixteen specialists in
various fields, which will be briefly summarized here. Economists,
statisticians, physiologists, agricultural chemists, food specialists,
and geologists have all taken part in producing a composite view of the
whole subject; it is not a book of special contributions by individual
specialists, but is written in one cast and represents the compared and
boiled-down conclusions of the sixteen scholars.