New Britain herald., 1915-08-24
SUGGESTS ARABIC
 MAY HAVE HIT MINE
Overseas News Agency Sends Out Captain Denies Theory

Berlin Aug. 24.-"Naval circles call l attention to a remarkable contradic
 tion in the English press reports re- garding the Arabic," says the Over
 seas News Agency in an item given
 out for transmission yesterday. One
 report says that the passengers and
 crew received life belts when the steamer enterd the danger zone. This Statment is declared to be nOnsensi-
 cal, because, it is pointed out a vessel
 leaving Liverpool is at once in the
 danger zone. However the dstribu
 tion of life belts, it is argued, admits
 of the conclusion that the steamers
 captain, obeying admiralty orders
 and spurred on by high money re-
 ward, intended to ram the submarine as soon as it was sighted. "Other reports state explicitly that no submarine or torpedo was sighted, permitting an assumption that the ship struck a lose mine, all this
 showing the necessity for awaiting the oIlcial report''
 Tho Deutsche Tages Zeitung says editorially:
 Justification of Warning. If it is true that a German sub marine destroyed the Arabic and that
 American citizens thereby were acci- dentally drowned, this is a fresh jus tification of German warnings to for elgners not to enter the war zone on board British ships and of Germany's advice that they use neutral ships in 1 stead.
 Tt is extremely regrettable,' the Tages Zeitung adds that the United l States has entirely disregarded Ger l manys warnings and tried by threats to cause Germany to give up sub- | marine warfare, which is an impossi-
 bility. This doubtless is the sent ment of the German nation" Regarding War Expenses.
 An interesting view on the matter of war expenses, which are being talked about here is given out by the Overseas News Agency as follows: George Bernhard, one of Ger many's best known financial writers in an editorial in the Vossische Zei- tung says the recent statement by Dr. Karl Helffrich, the German minister of finance, that the enemies of the Central powers would have to pay the larger part of German, Austrian and Turkish war expenses, could be more
 easily put into effect than is believed by many pessimists. Germany, he pointed out, holds wide strips of val
 uable land to the east and to the west
 If these lands were returned to their former owners they must pay the
 price fixed by the victors, the writer
 declares. If the territory should be retained it would increase the na-
 tional wealth and the actual amount of tax receipts. The refined financial technique of modern times, he ar
 gues, would permit arrangeme ents for
 the paying off of such war debts with
 out disturbance of the money market Captain Denies Theory. Liverpool, Aug. 24-Captain Will liam Finch of the sunken White Star
 line steamer Arabic, last night gave
 The Associated Press statement
 bearing the cabled reports that some German officials claimed that
 there was mo proof that the Arabic
 had been sunk. by a German sub-
 marine and that she might have met
 disaster by running into British
 mine.
 There is not the slightest doubt
 that the Arabic was sunk by a tor
 pedo,' said Captain Finch. Neither
 is there the slightest doubt that it
 was fired at the Arabic deliberately.