oss in men on the British side was fourteen killed and
twenty-nine wounded, while on the side of the Germans only 125 of the
crew of 850 men on the Bluecher were saved; the other 725 went down with
the ship. The loss of the Bluecher was the hardest blow the German navy
had sustained up to this time, as she was one of the newest and best
vessels of her class. She was built at a cost of $6,750,000. Her speed
was slower than that of the other vessels in the German squadron, which
doubtless accounted for her loss. The battle began about 150 miles from
Heligoland and ended within about fifty miles of this German naval base.

Early in the month of February, England threatened to put all foodstuffs
destined for German ports on the contraband list. In retaliation,
Germany, on February 4, through Admiral von Pohl, chief of the admiralty
staff, issued a proclamation designating the waters around Great Britain
and Ireland as a war area, to become effective February 18 and to be
enforced by a formidable fleet of submarines, the object being to
conduct war operations in this area for the purpose of destroying
commercial ships of the enemy.

Just at this time the great passenger steamship Lusitania, in her
passage from New York to Liverpool, hoisted the American flag while
sailing through the Irish Sea, and Germany charged that the British
Admiralty had issued confidential orders to captains of all British
ships to sail under the stars and stripes or other neutral flags when
necessary to use this means of protection against destruction by the
warships of the enemy. This situation seriously menaced the commerce of
the United States as well as that of all other neutral nations, and the
American Government, therefore, promptly issued a note of warning
to both belligerents and demanded in strong terms the protection of
American neutral rights on the high seas. Germany responded promptly
and promised to use every precaution to protect neutral shipping, but
pointed out that the use of the American flag by British ships would
make it difficult to distinguish neutral vessels from those of the
enemy; hence neutral shipping was urged to avoid the indicated war area.
Great Britain, on the other hand, claimed the right to use neutral flags
when necessary to protect human life and ships, when endangered by the
war vessels of the enemy; and under the laws of warfare and customs of
the nations this contention was correct.

It can readily be seen