The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-22
Austrian Charges Posi- tion Resembles That of Bernstorff in the Case of the Arabic
LATEST AMERICAN
 NOTE RELEASED IN WASHINGTON
Text of U. s. Note Is Virtu- ally as Represented by Government-Answer Is Expected Next Week

Washington, December Extending re- ! ceipt of Austria -Hungary's reply to the 1 second American note regarding the sink
 ing of the Italian steamship Ancona, Baron Erich zwiedenik, charge of the Austro-H Hungarian embassy, is conduct ing or forming a basis to conduct infor- n al negotiations with Secretary Lansing | looking toward an amicabIe settlement of
 the controversy, An intimation to that
 effect was received at the state derart-
 nent today, after the charge had con- l ferred at some length with the secre-
 tery.
 l It is understood Baron Zwiedenik is attempting negotiations similar to those l conducted by Count Won Bernstorff, the German ambassador, following the sink ing of the steamship Arabic. It is con- sidered improbable, however. that such neg gctiations can develop to an important stage until after receipt or the next for
 nal communication from Austria Hun gary, which is. expected sometime with | in the next week.
 1 Just what authority Baron zwiedinek
 has been given by his government has
 not been made known. It was recalled today that relations between the United States and Germany were seriously strained when the German ambassador was given virtually 8 free hand to con- duct the negotiations In some official
 quarters the belief prevails that 1t was ] the negotiations conducted by Count Won from becoming more serious than it at one time admittedly was.
 '. INFORMAL NEGOTIATIONS l Baron Zwiedinek now is in virtually the same position as the German ambass :. then found himself. It is cone' cred that with a knowledge of American views and the advantage of personal contact with | United States officials, the baron might
 be able to accomplish more than could ! result from exchange of diplomatic com
 nnunications The charge Is known to ! have word of some sort from his home
 government. It is also known that his attention was called to the reply which | vas made to the first American note. Il Neither Secretary Lansing nor Baron | Zwie6inek would discuss their conference 1 today, it having been agreed that beyond
 allowing it to be known that the Ancona ] case was under discussion, the r,atter l should be regarded as conndential.
 Word of the receipt in Vienna of the l second American note had not been re- l ceived at the state department tonight. 1 However the communication was started
 over the cables Sunday afternoon to Am bassador Penf1eld. Normally 36 hours is | n-- x12.- | to reach Vienna, consequently Ambas- | s1aGor Penfield should have received the
 note sometime today. and it should reach l the minister of foreign affairs ton --.'
 TEXT OF NOTE
 l The text of the note which Ambassa- | dor Penfield was instructed to deliver to l the Austro- Hungarian minister of foreign | affairs, reads as follows:
 i Department of State, Washington, December IS, 1915 l The government of the United States l has received the note of your excellency ! relative to the sinking of the Ancona, which was delivered at Vienna on De- 1 cember 15, 1915 and transmitted to Wash | ington, and has given the note immediate
 and careful consideration.
 | "On November Is, 1915, Baron Zwie- 1 denek, the charge d'affaires of the im-
 perial and royal government at Wash | ington. transmitted to the department of l state report of the Austro- Hungarian ! admiralty. with regard to the sinking of I the steamship Ancona, in which 1t was | admitted that the vessel was torpedoed
 after her engines had been stopped, and l when passengers were still on board l This admission alone Is, in the view of the government of the United States l sufficient to fix upon the commander of | the submarine which fired the torpedo
 the responsibility for having wilfully vio- | lated the recognized law of nations and l entirely disregarded those humane prin- | ciples which every belligerent should ob- | serve in the conduct of war at sea. In l view of these admitted circumstances ] the government of the United States feels | justified in holding that details of the
 sinking of the Ancona, the weight and l character of the additional testimony l corroborating the admiralty's report, and l the number of Americans killed or in- 1 jured, or in no way. essential matters of | discussion. The culpability of the com | mander is in any case established, and 1 the undisputed fact is that citizens of the 1 United States were killed, injured, or | put in jeopardy by his lawless act. l DEMANDS RENEWED
 'The rules of international law and 1 the principles of humanity protection which thus were wilfully violated by the 1 commander of the submarine, have been l so long and so universally recognized
 and are so manifest from the standpoint | of right and justice, that the govern ment of the United States does not feel called upon to debate them, and does not understand that the imperial and 1 royal government questions or disputes l them.
 The government of the United States 1 therefore. finds no other recourse open to it, but to hold the imperial and royal government responsible for the act of It's naval commander. and to renew the defi- 1 mite but respectful demands made in it's 1 communication of December 6, 1915. It sincerely hopes that the foregoing state l ment of it's position will enable the inn I perial and royal government to perceive the justice of those demands and to comply with them in the same spirit of !! frankness and with the same concern for the good relations now existing be- tween the United States and Austro- Hungary which promptcc the government of the United States to make them.
 LANSING"