The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-05-02
The Subject Of Varied Comments by the Press
Of Germany.
A SEMI-OFFICIAL STATEMENT
As
Anne Officers Manila and
Minimizing the Existing. Apparent
Cause for Irrtat of a Manila
Admitted. American Government
the PEOPLES

the Peopl,
Copyrighted by Associated Press.)
Berlin, April 29-The Coghlan Incl
dent at New York has been very gen.
orally discussed by the German papers
this week, although it is evident. as
stated to the Associated Press corre-
spondent here by a responsible member
of the government, that the journals
tic mouthpieces of the government did
not desire to consSrue the Objectionable
utterances as anything more than the
remarks of a man who had not been
accustomed TO measuring his words.
For a day or two, however, a number
of the leading newspapers published
severe structures on the case. With
view to obtaining a declaration from
governmental headquarters, the corre-
spondent here of the Associated Press
sought an interview with Privy Coun-
. cillor Hamman, a high official of the
foreign office.
Having been instructed by the min
lister for foreign affairs, Baron Won
Buelow, Councillor Hamman said:
$50 far as the foreign office knows,
there never was a serious misunder-
standing between Admiral Won Dieder-
ichs and Admiral Dewey, not even dur
| ing the early part of last summer. We
will not deny that there may have been
| slight bitches at first; for the situation
| was a difficult one for both Germans
| and Americans. Admiral Dewey may
| possibly have suspected for a time that
int< yoz INF fcvrrn
| ing with the Spaniards at Manila, or
! that Germany may have meant to take
| a hostile stand. This may have been
| due to certain evOlutiOnS of our ships
which Admiral Dewey misconstrued.
| On the other hand, Admiral Won Died
erichs probably keenly' felt the restric-
| tions of a stringent blockade, which
| greatly hampered the movements OF
! his ships. This irksome position may
! have tried the patience of Admiral Won
| DiederichS at times. This, we believe,
| was the cause both at Manila and at
Iloilo, but whatever little unpleasant
/ ness grew out of this condition never
| if we have been correctly Informed,
took serious complexion, and it never
was understood SO by either party. All
Of this was over long ago and the grass
has overgrown it. Ever since the end
of last summer the relations of Ad-
mirals Won Diederichs and Dewey
have been Of the most pleasant char
acter, and, according to latest advices,
are so now, to the extent of render
ing mutual services and fraternizing
on more than one occasion. The same
conditions exist at Samoa, where, all
reports to the contrary nothwithstand-
ing our adviceS show that never since
the trouble began, have the relations
| of the commander and crew of the
German cruiser Fake, and those of the
! English and American vessels ceased
to be cordial and pleasant.
| This has been the case especially
with the Americans. Among the crew
Of the United States cruiser Philadei-
| adelphia are a number of German
Americans and through them friendly
! intercourse came quite naturally. All
our reports agree on this point.
German residents of Apia," Coun-
| cillor Hamman continued, especially
/ mention that they had not had to suf-
| fer nearly as much from the Ameri
! cans on account of passport regula-
tions and other warlike measures as
/ from the British, thanks to the more
urbane methods Of the former"
Regarding the utternances of Cap
tain Coghlan, the government" Coun-
cillor Hamman concluded, has attach
ed no Importance to the incident. The
assurances received from Washington
on that subject have been entirely sat-
isfactory."
Some of the newspaper comments
elected by Captain Coghlan's utter
! ances are very significant. For exam
ple the Frankfurter Zeitung admits
that it saw no necessity for the dis
patch of a large German squadron to
Manila and asserts that the squadron
interfered injudiciously with the Amer
lean blockade The Zeitung alleges that
this interference was due TO direct in
structions from Emperor William
| Even more significant is the fact tha'
the Cologne Volks Zeitung, the mair
organ of the centre, the dominant party
IN the reichstag, has an article agree.
ing with the foregoing statement and
containing the following mysterioui
. passage:
, Perhaps it was due to negotiation
on the part of Germany IN order L
obtain, if possible, coaling station fl
the Philippines that a number of ou
vessels were sent to Manila II thi
] | presumption be correct, those who sen
instructions TO Admiral Won Diederich
= without the knowledge OF the foreig
q | office received a bitter lesson. The for
eign office has since been engaged
: remedying the blunder and has sue
: ceeded with the American governmen
{ but not yet with the people of III
a United States, as the Coghlan fncider
Il again demonstrates"
z The force of this editorial article
II heightened by the fact that the ps
. ! per in which it was published wa
!. from the outbreak of the war wit
: Spain, one of the most virulent en'
= mics of the United States
I . The Volks Zeitung and other new,
l. papers advise Germans not to unde
y value the importance Of hostile demon
g strations accompanying the Coghla
n incident, putting them on parallel linz
" with similar incidents on both sid.