On the 31st day of January, 1917, notice was given by the Imperial German Government to this Government that after the following day—"Germany will meet the illegal measures of her enemies by forcibly preventing, in a zone around Great Britain, France, Italy, and in the Eastern Mediterranean, all navigation, that of neutrals included, from and to England and from and to France, &c. All ships met within that zone will be sunk."
American ships sunk.
Since that day seven American ships flying the American flag have been sunk and between twenty-five and thirty American lives have been lost as a result of the prosecution of the submarine warfare in accordance with the above declaration. This is war. War waged by the Imperial German Government upon this country and its people.
Review of Germany's hostile acts.
A brief review of some of the hostile and illegal acts of the German Government toward this Government and its officers and its people is herewith given.
German note of February, 1915.
In the memorial of the Imperial German Government accompanying its proclamation of February 4, 1915, in regard to submarine warfare, that Government declared: "The German Navy has received instructions to abstain from all violence against neutral vessels recognizable as such." In the note of the German Government dated February 16, 1915, in reply to the American note of February 10, it was declared that "It is very far indeed from the intention of the German Government * * * ever to destroy neutral lives and neutral property. * * * The commanders of German submarines have been instructed, as was already stated in the note of the 4th instant, to abstain from violence to American merchant ships when they are recognizable as such."
American lives lost on many torpedoed ships.
Nevertheless, the German Government proceeded to carry out its plans of submarine warfare and torpedoed the British passenger steamer Falaba on March 27, 1915, when one American life was lost, attacked the American steamer Cushing April 28 by airship, and made submarine attacks upon the American tank steamer Gulflight May 1, the British passenger steamer Lusitania May 7, when 114 American lives were lost, and the American steamer Nebraskan on May 25, in all of which over 125 citizens of the United States lost their lives, not to mention hundreds of noncombatants who were lost and hundreds of Americans and noncombatants whose lives were put in jeopardy.
The British mule boat Armenian was torpedoed on June 28, as a result of which twenty Americans are reported missing.