The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-02-08
Germany Replies To American
Demand That II Cannot Admit
Destruction Of Big Cunarder
Was Illegal Act Under Law
WASHINGTON WARNED
NOT TO PRESS ISSUE
This Attitude Brings About An
other Serious Crisis Which
. President Wilson Hopes To
Bridge BY Use of Persuasion
Associated Press BY Federal wiroles..)

NAbbVClAtou FIebb ny feu8Ta Wnolebh.l
wv ASHlNGTON, February 5.-The
" Issue Ietwcen the United Sta
ties and Germany over the lat.
ter disregard of the American warn.
ing, officially given, that the Power
',FCgarding the rights of Americans
. travel safely on their lawful bust.
ness on The merchant ships Of any ma
TON, would be neld to "strict account.
lity, has again approached a crisis,
With semi-ohicial warnings from Berlin
that it will not be safe to press the
Anne lean contention that the Germans
ted illegally in the sinking of the
Lusitania.
Ccrman Reply Delivered
The official German reply to the last
American n te, which il sisted upon the
9 rman government ackno wledging tho
i""oa'itv of the act which sent the
British liner to the bottom, with the
IOss of mn'9 than a hundred American
lives, was Yesterday delivered by Count
Nor BernstorT, who conferred briefly
with Secretary of State Lansing, the
conference lasting about five minutes.
AT the conclusion of the conference,
v ithont giving out tn" official text Of
!, the German reply, Secretary Lansing
announced that the situation is sun
changed
Persuasion May Be Tried
President Wilson, who returned from
his spHechmaking tour, was in cOnsulta
ton W tn Secretary Lansing and sew.
eral Others in regard to the Lusitania
situation, but declined to make any
statement in the matter. 1t is under
stood. however, that he desires the ne,
gotiatiOns to lie continued, in the hope
that the German foreign Office NAV be
led to accept the American interpreta.
ton OF the international law governing
the ease.
Authorized press dispatches received
from Berlin Assert in positive terms
that the German government will not
meet the American contention that the
act of the German submarine command
or in sinL ing the Lusitania was illegal.
Berlin VIII Not Yield
The Associatrd Press correspondent in
Perrin cables that under no cireumstan-
ccs will such an admission be officially
made by the German foreign office. The
latest instructions forwarded TO Ambas
StdOr Won BcrnNtOrif, The Associated
Press learns, contains simply one phase
or new formulation of the proposed
German note Of 'gr"t. The suggested
srntene" Of this new draft cons sta of
only eight wordr aud does not contain
tn w"rd "iIl"goI
This new draft Of the German note
of regret represents the limit of Ger,
manys concessions in the Lusitania
case. Because Of the demands made by
the American notes, which insist that
Germany Fhal admit tine sink ing of the
liner was illegal, the situation is view
Ell here as one of the most serious
crises Of the war
Outcome Is in Doubt
II Is impnsslhle to fnresce the out
come. The result appears to hinge on
the word "llIcgal' and what the
United States will do to carry out its
insistrn"P that the German rrparati0n
recognize the Violation of international
law.
The Asr0rlatrd Press is also inform
Cd positively and authuritatively that
Germany cannot and will not designate
az ''iIlrgal the sinking Of liner by
my submarine.
L! NIT Apparently Reached
Her Alfred Zimmerman, under see
rotary for forc.gn affairs in the Ger
NAN cabinet, has granted an interview
+" Tn" Associated Press correspondent
in which he yays.
"Gcrmany is willing to do every
thing in its power to meet American
" hes, but there are limits beyond
which oven friend, hip snaps. You
Trst not push your demands too far
no" attempt to humiIate Germany"
lie nsaert"d that if America drives
the mnitrr ~ II breach, with all itS
lamemtahlr consequences, uUOn AmerI
ca must rest the responsibility for all
that may come.
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