“The Imperial Government learned with satisfaction how earnestly the Government of the United States is concerned in seeing that the principles of humanity are realised in the present war. This appeal also finds a ready echo in Germany, and the Imperial Government is quite willing to permit its statements and decisions in the present case to be governed by the principles of humanity, just as it has always done.... Germany has always been tenacious of the principle that war should be conducted against the armed and organised forces of an enemy country but that the enemy civilian population must be spared as far as possible from the measures of war.... If the commander of the submarine which destroyed the Lusitania had caused the crew and passengers to take to the boats before firing a torpedo this would have meant the certain destruction of his own vessel.... It was to be expected that a mighty ship like the Lusitania would remain above water long enough, even after the torpedoing of the vessel, to permit the passengers to enter the ship’s boats. Circumstances of a very peculiar kind, especially the presence on board of large quantities of highly-explosive materials, defeated this expectation. In addition, it may be pointed out that if the Lusitania had been spared thousands of cases of ammunition would have been sent to Germany’s enemies, and thereby thousands of German mothers and children would have been robbed of their bread-winners.... The Imperial Government will always be ready to do all it can in the present war to prevent the jeopardising of the lives of American citizens. The Imperial Government, therefore, repeats its assurances that American ships will not be hindered in the prosecution of legitimate shipping, and that the lives of American citizens on neutral vessels shall not be placed in jeopardy.”
On the 1st September, 1915, Count Bernstorff handed the following written communication to Mr. Lansing:—
“My dear Secretary,
“In reference to our conversation of this day, I beg to inform you that my instructions concerning our answer to your last Lusitania Note contain the following passage: ‘Liners will not be sunk by submarines without warning, and without ensuring the safety of the lives of non-combatants, provided that the liners do not try to escape or offer resistance.’”
The passenger steamer Arabic, a vessel of 15,801 tons gross register, was outward bound to America on the 19th August, 1915, when at 9.30 a.m. she was torpedoed without warning, being then 45 miles from land. She carried 176 passengers and 261 crew, 437 in all. The submarine appears to have been hiding behind a steamer, which had been stopped and was then sinking. While hidden thus, the U-boat submerged and headed for the Arabic, which she torpedoed before anyone on board had become aware of her presence. The force of the explosion blew one of the boats into the air and disabled the wireless telegraphy apparatus. The ship sank in about 10 minutes. Thanks to the good seamanship and courage of her officers and crew, 390 persons were embarked in the boats before the vessel went down, only 47 lives being lost. As soon as the torpedo had been discharged the periscope of the submarine disappeared.
With regard to the sinking of the Arabic, Count Bernstorff sent the following communication to Mr. Lansing:—
“Prompted by the desire to reach a satisfactory agreement with regard to the Arabic incident, my Government has given me the following instructions:—
“The orders issued by His Imperial Majesty to the commanders of German submarines, of which I have notified you on a previous occasion, have been made so stringent that a recurrence of incidents similar to that of the Arabic case is considered out of the question. According to the report of Commander Schneider of the submarine which sank the Arabic, Commander Schneider is convinced that the Arabic intended to ram his submarine. On the other hand, the Imperial Government does not doubt the good faith of the affidavit of the British officers in the Arabic, according to which the Arabic did not intend to ram the submarine.
“The attack of the submarine was undertaken against the instructions issued to the commander. The Imperial Government regrets and disavows this act, and has notified Commander Schneider accordingly.
“In these circumstances my Government is prepared to pay an indemnity for the American lives which, to its deep regret, have been lost in the Arabic. I am authorised to negotiate with you about the amount of this indemnity.”
The statement of Commander Schneider that he thought the Arabic would ram him cannot be accepted. If it were true, the ship would have been struck in her fore part. This, as Colonel Concannon, of the White Star Line, has pointed out, was not the case. The Arabic was struck aft. No effort was made to ram the submarine, for it was not seen, and no attempt was made to escape for the same reason. No guns were mounted on the Arabic.