The record-union., 1899-04-25

the incident IS One SOlely IOr
the Navy Department to Deal
With, It Having Occurred Be-
fore a Private Club.
WASHINGTON, April 24-The Ger
man Government has entered a formal
protest against the language used by
Captain Coughlan of the Raleigh at the
Union League Club banquet in New
York last Friday night. The protest
was lodged with Secretary Hay through
the German EmbaSSador, Herr Won
HOlleben-
Secretary Hay replied that the Ian
guage appeared to have been used at
a dinner in a club, and could not be re-
garded as an official or public utterance
in the sense that would warrant the
State Department in acting. However,
the Navy Department was fully COM
petent to take such action as the case
seemed to require.
With this statement the ambassador
was content for the time at least, and
will doubtless await a reasonable length
of time upon the Navy Department.
There are semi-official intimations that
the Embassador will not so much con-
Germ himself with the course of Cap
tain Coughlan as the course of the
United States in dealing with Coughlan.
The German Embassador stated to-day
that the poem recited by Captain
Coughlan was too nasty to be noticed. !"
1t is said Coughlan's case is not SINH
lar to that Of the Spanish Captain,
Conchas, whose utterances in Madrid
just before the war criticiSing the
United States, caused the State Depart
ment to lodge formal protest through
United States Minister Taylor Cap
tain Conchas' utterances We're embodied
in a lecture before the Geographical So
ciety, and were public in the full sense
of the term.
Secretary Hay in his reply to the
German AMBASSADOR has undoubtedly
taken note of the difference between the
cases on this particular point, and it
may be a very important difference for
Captain Coghlan. The State Depart
ment's position is that a club is simply
the home of a number of gentlemen.
and cannot be considered a public af
fair
But this view does not relieve Captain
Coughlan from responsi bility to his
brother officers for conduct which is
alleged to be detrimental to the navy
Though relieved from accountability to
the State Department directly by Sec
retary Hays attitude the Navy De-
partment, as the Secretary has indicat-
ed, must deal with the case. Captain
Coughlan can be called to account on
several charges, presuming that he has
been correctly reported, and that he ad-
mits the utterances. As in Commodore
Mead's case, if he stands mute and the
newspapermen refuse to testify, the
Navy Department can proceed no fur
ther
The charge which would most prob
ably be brought against Captain Cough
Ian in case the affair progresses to
court-martial would be conduct preju-
dicial to good order and discipline, and
conduct unbecoming an officer and u
gentleman.
So far no response has been received
from Captain Coughlan at the Navy
1t is believed the officer
will proceed with deliberation in MAX
ng any statement he may care to make
to the department.
Meanwhile unpleasant suggestions are
arising to the embarrassment that may
follow the execution of the round of re-
ceptions planned for the Raleigh
The German Embassador appeared at
the State Department at noon to-day
for the purpose of making further rep
to Secretary Hay touch
ing the conduct of. Captain Coughlan,
SO that the utterances of Captain
Coughlan at the Army and Navy Club,
as published in yesterday mornings pa
pers, were regarded as an additional
1ffense. An effort was made to ascer-
tain whether the United States Govern
ment intended to do anything officially
in view of subsequent developments in
the case.
Secretary Hay has not changed his
position in any degree He deprecated
the lack of tact and bad taste shown by
Captain Coughlan, and did not hesitate
to let that be known to the German
En- bassador. But he still held that the
case was one that required treatment
by methods of naval discipline only,
and which the State Department could
not concern itself
The German Embassador will conf
municate the Department. view to the
Minister at Berlin. The Off
cials on both sides realize that this epi-'
sode may grow into a very great source
Of discord unless treated discreetly and
coolly.
After the conference between Secre-
tary Hay and the German ambassador
this afternoon, it was stated in an au-
quarter that there was no
reason to view the Coughlan affair in
too serious a light, or as presenting
grave international complications. The
meeting to-day, it was stated. had been
mutually agreeable. The main feature
of the State Department conference was
in establishing that Germany expects
the United States Government to deal
with the Coughlan affair according to
the gravity Of the offense. and the
United States in return gives assurance
that every just expectation in this re-
spect will be performed
WHAT IS THOUGHT OF THE INCL
DENT AT BERLIN.
BERLIN. April 24.-In official circles
the Coughlan incident is regarded as an
'saufiuss der wineflaune" expression of
wine humor).
A representative of the foreign office
said to the correspondent here of the
Associated Press: THE American