Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-05-30
Officials Impatient and the
American Press Demand
ing Germany's Reply.
NEBRASKAN IN DARK
State Department Interest
ed in Claims of British
That 1t Was Tolpedoed.

w passing Of two weeks with no
reply from the German government
TO the note from the United States
concerning violations Of American
rights in the war zone has caused
Widespread speculation in official and
diplomatic quarters.
Two circumstances contributed to
the development today of further ten
sion in an already delicate situation
the insstence of reports from London
the the American steamer Nebraskan
was torpedoed instead OF mined ana
published intmations that Germany
would send a series Of notes IN an
swor to the American communication,
DELAYING discussion of the merits or
the question until there was an agree
ment on facts.
While high officials scrupulously
avoided comment, ii was evident they
were loath to believe the German
government had underestlmated the
Intense feeling of the American peo-
ple on the Lusitania disaster with tho
loss of more than one hundred Amer
lean lives or would seek to delay the
reparation demanded by the United
States
Bcrnstorff Busy.
Count Won Bernstorff the German
ambassador, confirmed the London
reports that he had sent wireless mes
sages to the German foreign office de-
Claring the American press was be-
coming impatient over the delay in
sending the German reply and that
the Nebraskan incident had aggra-
waited the situation. 1t was explained
that the ambassador was not express
ing his own opinion in these messages
but merely keeping his government
informed as usual
Berlin press dispatches saying Am
bassador Gerard had probably sent in
advance the main points to be con
tanned in the German reply were
shown to Secretary Bryan tonight.
He said that while the ambassador
had sent his own conjectures, nothing
that could be called an outline had
been received.
The general trend of comment in
official and diplomatic quarters was
that if the preliminary note from Ger
many proposed an agreement on the
facts of various cases mentioned in
the American note, there would fol-
low Immediately cOunterproposa
from President Wilson for a suspen-
sion Of submarine warfare which
might endanger American lives or
vessels while the diplomatic discus
sion was in progress.
Was without Arms.
The German government, according
to published reports, intends to in
Qure first whether the Lusitania was
armed or unarmed and whether she
carried munitions or not. The posi-
tiOn of the United States government
is that the Lusitania sailed unarmed
from an American port and did not
resist capture. Whether the vessel
carried Contraband Of any character
did not, in the American view, deprive
her of the right to be given an Op-
portunity to transfer crew and pas
sengers to place of safety before be-
ing destroyed.
Officials pointed out, moreover, that
the British liner by careful investiGa-
ton before sailing was found to be
unarmed and that there was no de-
NAL here of the fact that she carried
munitions of war This was shown on
her manifest published the day Of
sailing. Collector Malone of the port
of New York who was in Washington
tonight for a conference with Pres
idCnt Wilson on what were described
as personal matters, explained that
has assistants had made a thorough
investigation of the Lusitania and that
she had no guns aboard either
mounted or dismounted.
Don't Know Cause.
Officials still were noncommittal to-
day about the explosion aboard the
American steamer Nebraskan. Am
basador Page cabled that he expected
affdavits from the captain and crew
of the Nebraskan, but did not reveal
their nature, As yet the Washington
government does not know positively
whether a mine or torpedo caused the
explosion.
The reports of the naval attaches
of the American embassy at London
are expected to throw light on the
subject from a technical viewpoint
Until such information is in hand,
diplomatic action will be deferred.