The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1915-12-24
AMERICAN REPLY
REACHES VIENNA
SECOND UNITED STATES NOTE Is
DELIVERED TO FOREIGN OF.
FICE BY PENFIELD.

I Washington, Dec. 22.-The reply
of the United States to Austria s
note on the destruction of the Ital-
ian liner Ancona declares that the Of
fetal admission of the Austrian Ad-
miralty that the liner was terpedoed
after she had stopped and while pas
sengers still were aboard, alone is
sufficient for the American demand
Tor disavowal. reparation and pun
ishment of the submarine comman-
der.
Secretary Lansing's second note
already probably in the hands Of
the Austrian Foreign Minister and
made public here today, renews the
demands of the United States and
says the details to which Austria re-
ferred in her reply to the first Amer
lean communication, are in no way
essential to the discussion. 1t en-
phasizes that continuance of good re-
lations between the two countries de-
ponds upon the action of the Aus
TRAN government. The full text of
the note, which is addressed to Amer
lean Ambassadors Penfiield, follows:
"The Government of the United
States has received the note of Your
Excellency relative to the sinking OF
the Ancona, which was delivered at
Vienna on December Is, 1915, and
transmitted to Washington and has
given the note immediate and care
full consideration. On November 10,
1915, Baron Zwiedinek, the Charge
d Affaires of the Imperial and Roy
al Government at Washington, trans
mitted to the Department of State a
report of the Austro-Hungarian Ad-
miralty with regard to the sinking of
the steamship Ancona, in which it
was admitted that the vessel was tor
pedoed after her engines had been
stopped and when passengers were
still on board.
This admission alone, in the view
of the Government of the United
States, sufficient to fix upon the COM
mander of the submarine which fir
ed the torpedo the responsibility for
having willfully violated the recog-
nized law of nations and entirely dis
regarded those humane principles
which every belligerent should OBJ
serve in the conduct OF war at sea-
I'm view of these admitted cir
cumstances the Government of the
United States feels justified in hold
ing that the details of the sinking
of the Ancona, the weight and char
acter of the additional testimony cor
roborating the Admiralty's report,
and the number of Americans killed
or injured are in no way essential
matters of discussion. The culpabil-
ity of the commander is in any case
established. and the undisputed fact
is that citizens of the United States
were killed, injured or put in jeop- |
ardy by his lawless act.
The rules of international law and |
the principles of humanity which
were thus willfully violated by the |
of the subma ~ine have |
been so long and so universally re- |
cognized and are so manifest from I
the standpoint of right and justice, I
that the Government of the United |
States does not feel called upon to
debate them and does not under
stand the Imperial and Royal Gov
questions or dispute them.
1.-THE Government of the United
States therefore finds no other course
open to it but to hold the Imperial
and Royal Government responsible
and to renew the definite but respect
ful demands made in its cOmmunica-
lion of the 9Th of December, 1915.
II sincerely hopes that the foregoing
statement of its position will enable
The Imperial and Royal Government
10 perceive the justice of those de-
hands and to comply with them in
he same spirit of frankness and with
he same concern for the good rela-
ions now existing between the
United States and Austria Hungary
which prompted the Government of
he United States to make them"