Bismarck daily tribune., 1915-12-23
SECOND NOTE
TO AUSTRIA
!. ... MADE. |D||||E|: D PUBLIC.
Note Says Continuance Of Good
Relations Depends Entirely
on Austria.
RENEW DEMANDS MADE
IN THE FIRST NOTE
Declare Official Admission of Aus.
trian Admiralty Warrants
U. s. Stand.

Washington, Dec. 22.-The reply Of
the United States to Austria Hun.
gary's note on the destruction OF the
Italian liner Ancona declares that
official admission of the Austrian ad.
miralty that the liner was torpedoed
after she had stopped and while pas.
sengers still were aboard, alone is
sufficient for the American demand
for disavowal, reparation and punish.
ment of the submarine commander.
Secretary Lansing's second note,
already probably in the hands of the
Austrian foreign minister and made
public here today, renews the de.
mands OF the United States and says
the details to which Austria referred
in her reply to the first american
communication are in no way essen.
tial to the discussion. It, emphasizes
that continuance OF good relations be.
tween the two countries depends up
on the action of the Austrian govern.
ment.
Full Text OF NOTE.
The full text of the note. which is
addressed to American tAfnbassado
Penfield, follows: :, ss'S,,
"The government of !: :tl.ei United
States has received the note#of Your
EXcellency, relative to the sinking of
the Ancona, which was: delivered at
Vienna on December 49, 1876. and
transmitted to WashinrtHl.s and has
given The note imme4pta- 81. and careful
"On November Is, 1915, Baron
Zwiedinek, the charge d'affaires OF
the Imperial and Royal government
at Washington, transmitted to the de.
partment of state a report of the
Austro.Hungarian admiralty with re-
gard to the sinking of the steamship
Ancona, in which it was admitted
that the vessel was tOrpedOed after
her engines had been stopped and
when passengers were still on board.
This admission alone is, in the view
of the government Of the United
States, sufficient to fix upon the com.
mander Of the submarine which fired
the torpedo the responsibility for hav.
ing willfully violated the recognized
law of nations and entirely disregard
ed those humane principles which
every belligerent should observe in
the conduct of war at sea. In view
of these admitted circumstances, the
government of the United States feels
justified in holding that the details of
the sinking of the Ancona, the weight
and character of the additional tes.
timony corroborating the admiralty's
report, and the number of Americans
killed or injured are in no way essen.
tial matters of discussion. The cul.
pability OF the commander is in any
case ablished, and the undisputed
fact is that citizens Of the United
States were killed or wounded or put
in jeopardy by this lawless act.
Renew All Demands.
"The rules of International war and
the principles OF humanity which
were thus wilfully violated by the
commander of the submarine have
been so long and so universally rec.
ognized and are so manifest from the
standpoint of right and justice that
the government of The United States
does not feel called upon to bate
them and does not understand that
the Imperial and Royal government
questions or disputes them.
"The government Of the United
States, therefore, finds no other
course open to it but to hold the I'M
perial and Royal government res pom
sible for the act Of is> naval COM
mander and to renew the definite but
respectful demands made in its CON-
munication of the 9Th of December,
1915. 1t sincerely hopes that the
foregoing statement OF its position
will enable the Imperial and Royal
government to perceive the justice
of these demands and comply with
them in the same spirit OF frankness
and with the same concern for the
good relations now existing between
the United States and Austria'Hun.
gary which prompted the government
Of the United States to make them"
German Reply Secret.
Eeca,se of its possible bearing UP
on the open issues involved in tie
Lusitania and Ancona cases, the state
department will not make public the
details of the German reply to :'!e
last American note regarding the
sinking of the American saip. William
P. Frye. A cable outline Of the Ger.
man reply indicated that 1t was no'
completely responsive, and left in
doubt the attitude of the German gov
ernment toward the American suggec
ion that the retirement of the dec
laration of London that before the
vessel is destroyed ali persons on
board must be placed in safety" was
not satisfied by merely giving an cp
portunity for escaping in lifeboats Oh
the open sea.