Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1915-12-17
Experts at Work DECIDING
Document Which is
1000 Words Long
30 HOURS IN COMING
United States, According to High Of
fcials, Will Not Yield One Bit in its
Demands

Washington, Dec. 11-Austrlas
renlv to the American Ancona note
was laid before the Cabinet today.
That it failed in every way to
meet the demands of the United
F; States; that it was eyaise and to-
talIv unsatisfactory; and that it ap-
nears TO reflect total indifference
to the reminder in the American
note that "the good relations be-
! tween the two countries must rest
upon a common regard for the prin-
ciples of humanity" were the con-
clusions forced upon the President
and his advisers.
Washington, Dec 1.-THE Austro-
Hungarian governments reply to
the American note on the Ancona
reached the State Department early
today. Experts Of the department
were Immediately set to work de-
coding the reply, which is about
1000 words long.
1t will be placed before President
Wilson and Secretary of State Lam
sing as soon rs the work of decod-
irg is completed, and will be consid-
cred at today's meeting of the Cab
met.
The note required about thirty
hours in tranAroissinn. 1tswas deliver.
cd to Ambassador Penfield at noon
Wednesday. The work of translatng
and coding the message .required
about six hours and it was on the
wires at 6 o'clock Wednesday night.
State Department officials remain
ed in the building until after II
o'clock last night waiting the ar
rival of the note. 1t was shortly after
midnight when it began to arrive
Code experts Of the department i'm
mediately we're notified and began
their work.
Officials have not decided whcn
the Austrian reply will: be made pub
lie. This probably will be decided at
The Cabinet meeting.
High officials insist the United
States will not yield one 'Hhit, UNI
less Austria produces evidence over
whelmingly .contradicting that now
possessed here and also contradicting
its own previous admiralty state
ment. Neither, it is avcrred, will the
State Department consent to enter
upon a long interchange Of notes.
It was admitted by officials of the
department that the unofficial text
of the reply as conveyed in press
dispatches from Europe. is wholly
unsatisfactory The position taken
by Austria is directly at variance
with the position she was expected to
take. as outlined in information re-
ceived during the past. few days by
. officials of this go~ernment.
The best opinion obtainablc in of
| fetal circles regarding the status of
the relations of: the United States
and Austria is that break is nearer
now than before, but is not necessar-
lily imminent This opinion is influ-
cnced to considerable extent by the
contents OF. a long message receiv-
ed from Ambassador Penfeld at Wen
malt was the only official communi-
cation on the Austrian situation
which. has come to the department
! for some time, and is regarded as
! of the highest importance, because
| it indicates the basis on which Aus
tria asks for further negotiations.
! Ambassador Penfield said, in SUBJ
stance.
s'The manner Of the United States
| in presenting its case was distastc-
! full to the Austrian foreign Office"
! Austria has two principal lines of
argument-frst. that she, is entitled
as an independent nation, to a clear
statement of the views of the State
Department on submarine warfare,
wholly apart from any expression of
view given any other government