Evening star., 1915-05-10
FORM Of j. S. PROTEST
IN LUS|TAN|A AFFAIR
today BIG PROBLEM
Continued from First Page.)
transferring -combatants to a place
of safety.
Armed Vessels Not Cleared.

The official statement from Berlin,
which came by wireless. admitting that
German submarine had sunk the
Lusitania. and pointing out that the
big liner was naturally armed with
guns" was widely commented upon by
officials.
On the highest authority it was stat
ed that as early as last September,
when Count Won Bernstorff, the Ger
man ambassador, called attention to the
arrival in American ports of British
liners, among them the Adriatic, with
guns aboard, the question was taken up
by the State Department. 1t was ruled
by the department that a merchant
vessel could not be classed as a war
ship If she carried guns not larger than
six-inch caliber for defensive purposes,
were begun Immediately with Great
Britain and an understanding was
reached whereby no British vessel
clearing from American ports would be
armed.
It is the duty Of the port authorities
in New York each time a ship asks for
clearance to see that no guns, mounted
or unmounted, are carried on belliger-
ent vessels. Dudley Field Malone. col
lector of the port of New YORK, now
ever. has been asked by the Washing
ton government as to whether the Lusi-
tanfa carried any armament, and has
reported that she carried out the terms
of the understanding as originally en-
tered into with the British government
and had no guns aboard.
In Justification of Act.
The unofficial Austro-German opinion
here emphasizes. to justify the act. the
presence of ammunition on a passenger
ship. and argues that the sacrifice of
messengers was less In the balance than
the toll that would have been taken
by the ammunition had it reached the
allies.
The President has watched without
open comment, but, 1t is known. with
disapproval, the complaints of the Ger
man officials with regard to questions
of neutrality and the efforts to array
German-American sentiment against
the Washington administration as a
means of urging an embargo on muni-
tions of war against the allies. At hrst
the German government admitted that
there was no violation of international
law in the sale by private individuals
of munitions of war. When the Ger
man ambassador in memorandum
practically accused the United States
government of not being neutral in the
question of permitting shipments o.
munitions, the President was amazed
Studying Chain Of Incidents.
The sinking Of the American steamer
Frye, the attack on the Falaba. which
caused the drowning of an American
citizen, Leon C. Thrasher; the wrecking
without warning of the American tank
ship Gulflight. the dropping of bombs
on the American steamer Cushing and
finally the torpedoing of the giant liner
Lusitania constitute series of Incl
dents which the President is trying to
interpret. He wants to be certain
whether they range themselves in or
der toward a grave climax of a care
fully planned policy of hostility to the
United States or whether the sequence
Is casual, and the German govern
ment desires to continue friendly re-
lations with the Washington govern
ment.
If the German government, as not
few diplomatists and officials fear. Is
anxious to draw the United States into
the European conflict in the hope that
defense at home will reduce the supply
of arms to the allies. some officials be-
lieye the situation must be considered
in the light of other possibilities and
incidents in the future. which might be
calculated to aggravate public feeling
in the United States.
Neutral governments are anxious to
know what the course of the United
States will be. They have frequently
;ntimated to the American government
their willingness to join in any move
ment which might effectively protect
the rights of neutra1s. They have prom
ised their moral support, and while the
United States traditionally has been
opposed to joint action of any kind,
some observers think contingency
NAV arise as the international situa-
tion develops which may make neces-
sary conversations with the neutral
countries on a common policy to safe
guard the rights Of neutrals.