On the third of February I officially informed you of the sudden and
unexpected action of the Imperial German Government in declaring its
intention to disregard the promises it had made to this Government in
April last and undertake immediate submarine operations against all
commerce, whether of belligerents or of neutrals, that should seek to
approach Great Britain and Ireland, the Atlantic coasts of Europe, or
the harbors of the eastern Mediterranean, and to conduct those
operations without regard to the established restrictions of
international practice, without regard to any considerations of humanity
even which might interfere with their object. That policy was forthwith
put into practice. It has now been in active execution for nearly four
weeks.
Its practical results are not yet fully disclosed. The commerce of other
neutral nations is suffering severely, but not, perhaps, very much more
severely than it was already suffering before the first of February,
when the new policy of the Imperial Government was put into operation.
We have asked the cooeperation of the other neutral governments to
prevent these depredations, but so far none of them has thought it wise
to join us in any common course of action.
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