New Britain herald., 1915-12-16
AUSTRIA'S REPLYTOANCONA NOTE UNACCEPTABLETOU.S.: DIPLOMATICBREAK IMMINENT Washington Government Will Not Enter Into
 Exchange of Opinions as Suggested 7 by Vienna Foreign Office. AMBASSADOR PENFIELD WAS HANDED ANSWER TUESDAY

London, Dec. 16, 6:22 a. m.-Th' s reply of Austro- Hungarian govern ment to the not from the Unitr l States relative to the sinking of the steamer Ancona by an Austrian sub marine was handed to Frederick C. Penfield, United States ambassador al Vienna, on Tuesday, according to q despatch from Amsterdam to Reuters Telegram Go.
 The correspondent quotes from the reply as follows:
 "From the sharpness with which / the government of the United States believed it ought to censure the com mander of the submarine and from the firmness with which the demands addressed to the Austro- Hungarian government appear to have been brought forward, it could be expected that the American government would clearly give the actual circumstances upon which it relies. As can be easily recognized, the representation of the circumstances contained in the note allows numerous doubts and gives not at all sufficient reasons for blaming the commander of the submarine and the Austro-Hungarian government, even if the representation proves cor rect in all points and Judgment in the ease is based on the most rigorous legal interpretation.
 No Names Given.
 The American government als,, omitted to indicate the persons to whose statements it refers and to whom it apparently believes it must attribute a higher degree of trust worthiness than to a commander of the imperial royal navy. .
 "As to the number, names and the details concerning the fate of the American citizens who, in the critical moment were aboard the above men toned steamer, the note does not give any explanation. But in view of the fact that the Washington cabinet now has given positive declaration that at the above mentioned incident suh- jects of the United States came to gfief, the Austro-Hungarian govern ment in principle is prepared to enter into an exchange of opinion with tho American government. But in the first instance it must raise the question of why this government refrained from juridically motivating the demands
 
 special circumstances of the incrinl- mating incident, which are especially pointed out by the American govern- ment and in the place of such, mo- tivation mentioned an exchange of correspondence which it had with an other government about another af- fair.
 Individual Legal Maxims.
 "The Austro- Hungarian government is the less able to follow the Wash ington cabinet in this unusual atti- tude as it in no way possesses a knowl- edge of all the correspondence having reference to it. The Austro- Hungar- ian government also is not of the opin- ion that this knowledge could be suf- ficient for the present case which, ac- cording to it's own information is ma tefially different from the case or cases to which the American government { apparently is referring. Therefore, the Austro-H Hungarian government must leave it to the Washington cab inet to draw up the individual legal maxims which the commander of the submarine is alleged to have violated when sinking the Ancona.
 7"The American government also tHousHL IL auVlSaDle to point out the attitude which the Berlin cabinet in the before-m enioned exchange of cor respondence had taken. In the highly esteemed note the Austro- Hungari1 l government finds no support for this course. If the American government should have intended thereby to ex- press an opinion as if precedent ex- 1scs for the present case, the Austro- Hungarian government, in order to prevent misunderstanding must d.. clare that it, of course, must pre-. serve full liberty to urge it's own legal interpretations during the discussion i of the Ancona case'
 The government expresses to Am bassador Penfield fully sympathy for the victims of the Ancona sinking. says the correspondent