File No. 841.857M331/31
The Chargé in Germany (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 4, 10.10 p. m.]
4555. Urgent. With reference to Department’s 3530, 30th October, and 3532, 31st, following is a translation of note dated to-day received from Foreign Office at 10.30 this evening:
The undersigned has the honor to reply as follows to the American Chargé d’Affaires, Mr. Grew, with reference to the two notes of the 2d instant relative [Page 300] to the sinking of the British steamers Rowanmore and Marina by German submarines:
The Imperial Government is not yet in a position to give a positive statement regarding the cases in question since the submarines which come into question for the sinking are still on their voyage without it having yet been possible to get into communication with them. As soon as they shall have returned an exact investigation of their procedure will be instituted, and immediately upon its completion the result will be communicated to the American Embassy.
The Imperial Government, however, wishes even now to express the conviction that the proceedings connected with the sinking of the two ships could not have occurred as the informants of the American Government state, for the commanders of the German submarines operating against England have the strictest and most sharply controlled instructions to keep carefully within the limits of the rules, the observance of which the Imperial Government promised in its note of May 4, 1916, and which since then have been observed by the German submarines with the greatest exactness.
The undersigned avails himself of this occasion [etc.]
Zimmermann