Perth Amboy evening news., 1915-05-27
Steamer Nebraskan Expected
to Reach Liverpool Tonight,
Washington Learns.
PRESIDENT FOR A REPORT
Will Not Jump at Conclusions,
Realizing Seriousness of the
Situation at Hand.
spec,a, by Unitea pre.s wsre.

~
Washington. May 27:-The Amer
lean steamship Nebraskan, victim
of some sort of an explosion We'd
nesday was expected to reach Liver
| pool by nightfall, according to Of
! fetal word received here. 1t is sup
posed a naval attache of the Ameri-
can embassy in London will examine
the liner as soon as she docks, and
| win report If possible whether the
injuries point to torpedoing, as the
| British admiralty says, or whether
she hit floating mine.
,, Realizing the extreme seriousness
of the situation, President Wilson
| has decided there will be no jumping
at conclusions. The admiralty claim
that the Germans attacked the ship
viii not re accepted without pre- Of
Officials admit that if the Nebras-
kan was torpedoed by a German
| submarine in the night and without
warning the act was a fragrant
breach of American neutrality and
it was an assault on the national
honor that no ordinary apology can
| satisfy. They state the President is
handling the case personally. All re-
l.
representatives abroad are sent
direct to his study.
Copies go to other responsible
officials. By the Presidents orders
there is to be no discussion of in
tended action until all facts are
known.
German embassy officials fatty de-
clare that they do not believe Ger
man submarine was responsible for
the disaster. The state department
today received from Consul General
Skinner, in London, the following:
Green, master of the American
steamer Nebraskan, in wireless to
me via Landsend, reports: 1t was
dusk when the explosion occurred.
Flags had been hauled down five
minutes before. Steamers name
painted on both sides of ship, letters
six feet tall.
Both Ambassador Page and Consul
General Skinner at London reported to
the state department that the Nebras
an had been torpedoed. Their dis
patches, however. were based on in
formation received by the British ad
mirality from its wireless station at
Lands End, England. Until more con
elusive evidence direct from the ship
herself is available TO support the ad-
miralty's statement opinion here will
| undoubtedly incline to the belief that
the Nebraskan struck a mine and was
not torpedoed
Serious Turn Likely.
Should 1t develop that there is suffi
cient evidence to establish the ad-
miralty report that the Nebraskan was
| torpedoed the incident viii be extreme
ly serious. aggrayating almost beyond
measure the already delicate situation
existing between the German and Unit
ed States governments on the qustion
of the German submarine operations.
The only possible explanation seen
here today for the torpedoing of the
Nebraskan-if that proves TO be the
fact-is that 1t was a mistake on the
part of the submarine commander. II
is not believed here that submarine
commander could easily have made
such mistake. but it is admitted as y
possibility The explosion occurred at
about 8 o'clock III the evening. which
at this season in those waters is the
time OF twilight consequently the Ne
braskan must have been plainly visi
BILE; also the submarine commander
could hardly have failed to notice that
her course was away from and not TO
ward England.
But If officials find 1t difficult to be
lieve that the Nebraskan was torpe-
doed they also find it not easy to accent
the mine theory. The sea area where
the Nebraskan was struck is In the
main fairway of the British commerce
and never has been mined by the Brit
ish In fact. the waters OF this area
are too deep for mine fields. 1t is not
considered reasonable that the British
would strew floating mines In the path
ways of their own commerce, and fur
thermore the British have declared
that they were not using floating mines
London, May 27.-It was early In the
evening when the American steamer
Nebraskan, steaning through a calm
sea forty miles west-southwest of !
Fastnet. ireland, ran into mine or
was struck by submarines torpedo. |
The shock was not great; but, the fore
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