_Ambassador Gerard on July 15 formally transmitted to Washington
Germany's admission of liability and expression of regret for the
attack by a German submarine on the American steamer Nebraskan._
_Secretary Lansing's announcement of the German memorandum follows:_
Ambassador Gerard has telegraphed to the Department of State the
following memorandum from the German Foreign Office relative to the
damaging of the American steamer Nebraskan by a German submarine:
"The German Government received from newspaper reports the
intelligence that the American steamer Nebraskan had been damaged by a
mine or torpedo on the southwest coast of Ireland. It therefore
started a thorough investigation of the case without delay, and from
the result of the investigation it has become convinced that the
damage to the Nebraskan was caused by an attack by a submarine.
"On the evening of May 25 last the submarine met a steamer bound
westward without a flag and no neutral markings on her freeboard,
about 65 nautical miles west of Fastnet Rock. No appliance of any kind
for the illumination of the flag or markings was to be seen. In the
twilight, which had already set in, the name of the steamer was not
visible from the submarine. Since the commander of the submarine was
obliged to assume from his wide experience in the area of maritime war
that only English steamers, and no neutral steamers, traversed the war
area without flag and markings, he attacked the vessel with a torpedo,
in the conviction that he had an enemy vessel before him. Some time
after the shot the commander saw that the vessel had in the meantime
hoisted the American flag. As a consequence, he, of course, refrained
from any further attack. Since the vessel remained afloat, he had no
occasion to concern himself further with the boats which had been
launched.
"It results from this that without a doubt that attack on the steamer
Nebraskan was not meant for the American flag, nor is it traceable to
any fault on the part of the commander of the German submarine, but is
to be considered an unfortunate accident. The German Government
expresses its regret at the occurrence to the Government of the United
States of America and declares its readiness to make compensation for
the damage thereby sustained by American citizens."