The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-31
Appreciates Desire for Good
Relations Between
Nations.
WANTS TO CARRY OUT
LAWS OF HUMANITY
Assures Protection of Pas
sengers on Vessels That
Are Sunk.
NEW FACTS SAID TO
HAVE BEEN FOUND
Submarine Captain Says
All on AncOna Seemed
to Have Left.
Special Gable Despatch to Tur srx


LONDON. via Amsterdam. Dec. 3o--A
despatch from Vienna says that AUS
trials reply to the American Ancona
note expresses agreement with the
Washington view that the laws Of hu.
manity should be recognized in war
The reply also states that the COM
mander o: the Austrian submarine has
been punished for not sufficiently TAX
ing account of the panic akAard the
Ancona, which rendered enjba rka ton
more difficult
1t is understood that the Austrian Gov
ernment has discovered new facts in
connection with the sinking OF the An
coma. and that upon them II is impossi-
BILE for the Vienna Foreign Office to
grant all Of the American demands.
Part of the note Is quoted as follows:
In reply to the second American
AncOna note. the AustrO. II ungarian
Government fully agrees with the
Washington Cabinet that the sacred
laws Of humanity should he taken into
account, also In war. and emphasizes
that II. In the course of this war, has
given numerous proofs Of the most ha.
name feelings.
The Austro. Hungarian Government,
too, can positively concur in the princi.
pie that enemy private vessels. 50 lar
as they do not flee or Ofier resistance,
shall not be destroyed before the per.
sons aboard are secured.
The assurance that the United
States Government attaches value to
the maintenance Of the existing good
relations between Austria. Hungary and
the United States IL warmly recipro.
Gated by the Austro. Hungarian GOV.
erument, which now, rs heretofore. is
anxious TO render these relations stiil
more cordial.
The Hungarian Government
then communicates the results Of the in
Quiry into the sinking of the Ancona,
which was recently concluded. The note
continues:
The inquiry showed that the COM
mander Of the submarine. from a great
distance IN the first instance. fired
warning shot on the steamer. sighted at
IL 40 In the forenoon, which he at first
believed To be a transport steamer, at
the same time giving signal for the
vessel TO stop.
Fired sixteen shells.
AS the liner failed TO stop. and tried
to escape. the submarine gave chase and
hred sixteen shells at the steamer. of
which three were observed to hit The
steamer stopped only after the third hit,
whereupon the commander cea sed firms
Already during the flight, il is de-
clared, when at full speed the steamer
dropped several Hpats filled with people.
which at once capslzed After the ves-
sci stopped, the commander of the SUBJ
marine observed that six boats were
fully manned. and they speedily rowed
away from the steamer.
Approaching nearer. the commander
OF the submarine saw that a great
panic prevailed aboard the steamer and
that he had before him the passenger
vessel Ancona. on account Of which he
gave those aboard more time than was
necessary to leave the vessel in life
boats
Al least ten llfebodts were still aboard
which would have more than sufficed
to rescue the persons still on the vessel
But as no other preparations were made
to hoist out the boats. the commander
decided. after the expiration Of forty
Ave minutes, to torpedo the vessel in
such manner that II ought to remain
afoat for n still longer time. in order
to leave sufficient opportunity for tho
people still aboard to he rescued,
Another ship Approached.
visible, which steamed toward the sub
marine. AS the commander of the SUBJ
marine, who believed the steamer to bo
an enemy cruiser. had 10 reckon with an
attack. he submerged at IL 49,. firing 4
torpedo into the foremost cargo hold OF
the Ancona. No more boats aboard tho
vessel Were lowered, although persons
were still visible aboard.
The steamer sank so slowly that the
submarine commander at first doubted
whether the steamer would sink Only
at | 30 O'Clock did it sink. bow first.
During these further forty-five min
utes. II is averred, all the persons aboard
could have easily been saved with tho
available boats. From the circum-
stance that this did not occur the COM
mander concluded that the crew. con-
trary 10 all the rules of the sea. accom-
plished their own rescue In the first
boats and left the passengers to them
selves.
The entire loss OF life. the note sets
forth. cannot be attributable In the first
instance to the sinking OF the vessel.
hut In some degree to the dropping Of
the first boats while the steamer was
proceeding at full speed, and to the fact
that the crew only thought Of their
own safety and did not rescue the pas
sengers from the capsized boats, though
also to the shells which hit the fleeing
vessel.
But the death Of the persons drowned
with the sinking vessel must. above all.
be ascribed to the "culpable behavior" OF
the crew.
The Austrian reply then states that
the American note In several points is'
based On incorrect suppositions. and