The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-09-15
TALKS TO lansing
DR.. DUMBA EXPLAINS LETTER
CAPTURED BY BRITISH
NO OFFICIAL COMMENTS

|Austro-Eungariap Ambassador Calls
On American Secretary of State and
Goes Into Detailed Explanation Of
His Intentions-Would Keep Sub
jects Out of Munition Factories.
DR.. Constantin T. Dumba, the Aus
trian-Hungari&n ambassador, laid be-
fore Secretary Lansing Tuesday an
explanation of a letter written by him
to the Vienna foreign office discuss
ing plans for withdrawing Austro-
Hungarian labor from American
plants making war supplies for Great
Britain and her allies.
Neither the ambassador nor Mr..
Lansing would comment upon the in
terview when it was over. The i'm
| preston prevailed in official quarters,
submit the matter to president Will
son, with whom would rest the deci-
| sion as to whether the explanation
| was satisfactory.
The text of Dr.. Dumba's letter, re-
| Gently seized by British authorities
from its bearer, James 2. J. Archi-
bald, an American, was cabled to the
state department by Ambassador
Page at London, and had been the
Z 80 h<S &I,n
president and Secretary Lansing be-
fore the ambassador reached the de-
partment.
1t is understood that the use Of an
| American passport to shield the mes
| senger who carried not only the
| Dumba letter, but dispatches from
the German embassy and other docu-
ments, was regarded by them as quite
as serious matter as the activities
revealed by the letter itself.
| Mr.. Lansing's only statement on
the subject was negative response
when asked whether any steps haG
been taken toward bringing the aitu-
alton to the attention of the Austro-
Hungarian foreign Office.
From reliable sources it was learn
ed that DR.. Dumba, in making his ex-
PLANTATION, outlined the Austro-Hun-
garian view of the plans dealt with in
his letter, contending that it contain
ed no violation of Jaws OF the United
Estates nor offences ;.gainst American
institutions. So far, it was said, no
steps had been taken, but the ambas-
sador had been instructed to give
widest publicity to a new decree Of
his government making nationals
liable under martial law for render
ing assistance in the manufacture Of
| munitions of war for the enemy.
| This decree, previously announced,
provides punishment of long terms Of
Imprisonment, and even death by
hanging, for Austro-Hung garians COM
hitting the offence at home or
abroad. Cooperation in carrying out
the purposes Of the law, it was point
ed out, was held to be mere fulfill
ment Of the duty of az ambassador
charged with protection of his ma
tionals.. It was not denied, however,
that Austria-H1ngary's representa-
ltives, while they had no desire to in
lure American interests, would not
hesitate to handicap in any way pos
sible the efforts of their enemies to
obtain munitions.
| At the. embassy it was stated that
| Ambassador Dumba expected to see
Secretary of Labor Wilson before re-
| turning to his summer quarters at
LenoX, Mass. The ambassador is
known to be working; on scheme
for setting up an employment bureau
to take care Of men who leave muni-
ton factories at his instigation.
He wants the cooperation CT de-
partment of labor oricials in the plan.
After seeing Secretary Lansing, DR..
Dumba returned to the state depart
| ment and conferred with Assistant
Secretary Phillips, in charge of the
Western European affairs division. It
was understood that they discussed
Isome matters of routine business.
| There has been no suggestion that
the ambassador had violated Amer1-
can law, and apparently the only
tquestion is whether the administra-
ton will regard his acts as breaches
Of diplomatic propriety. DR.: Dumba
himself asked for the conference with
Mr.. Lansing after the announcement
Of Archibald's detention and the pub
lication in this country Of extracts
from his letter.
The first information of the fact
that Archibald was a messenger to
Germany came from London when
the British authorities gave to the
New York Worlds correspondent the
|! facts. When they were published in
| America, says the New York Times.
Or. Dumba, the Austro-Hungarian
ambassador, admitted that he gave
| James ). Archibald, an American
| newspaper correspondent, a letter for
| delivery to Foreign Minister Burlan
in Vienna, in which he proposed GER
tain measures to be taken to hamper
the manufacture of munitions for the
| Allies in America.
DR.. Dumba did not seem perturbed
| over the detention of Archibald at
Falmouth and the confscation of the
letter and other official documents
| which the German and Austro-Hun-
garian embassies in this country had
intrusted to him for delivery to home
officials of their respective govern
ments. He defended as entirely le-
gitimate the measures which he pro-
posed in his letter, as calculated to
restrict the output of munitions for
the Allies.
According to dispatches cabled to
this country, the letter written by DR..
Dumba, which was found in Archi-
bald's cabin on the steamship Rot
terdam, represented that eve can
disorganize and hold up for months,
if not entirely prevent, the manufac-
ture of munitions in Bethlehem and
the Middle West, which, in the opin-
;on of the German military attache,