New Britain herald., 1916-04-13
GERMANY DENIES
 SINKING SUSSEX
Admits Torpedoes Sunk Other
 Ships With Americans Aboard

public at the German capital and transmitted to America. It deals also with the cases of several other stean1- CTS, which the statement asserts were sunk legally afer attempting to escape and after the crew had taken to the boats. An offer is made to lay the Sussex matter before an impartial tribunal to determine the facts
 When officials at Washington had read press dispatches outlining Ger manys reply they indicated that com piation of evidence in all such cases since the Lusitania would continue and that very soon a communication would go to Berlin designed to be final word from the United States on the subject of illegal attacks upon peaceful vessels carrying Am ericans.
 Text of German Note.
 The following is the text of the Ger man note on the Sussex, dated Mon- day:
 The undersigned has the honor to inform your excellency, Elm bassador Gerard in response to communications of the 29th and 30th ultimo, and the Sd instant regarding the steamers Sussex, Manchester Engineer, English man, Berwindvale and Eagle Point, I that the mentioned cases, in accord ance with our notes of the 30th and 21st ultimo and the 4th and 9th in- stant, have been subjected to careful investigation by the admiral staff of l the navy, which has led to the follow 1 ing results:
 'First-The English steamer Der ] windvaIe. A steamer which was pos l sibly the Berwindvale was encountered, ! on the evening of March 16 in sight l of Bull Rock light, on the Irish coast, l by German submarine. The steamer 1 as soon as she noticed the submarine, which was running unsubmerged, l turned and steamed away. She was 1 ordered to halt by warning shot. 1 She paid no attention, however, to l this warning, but extinguished all l lights and attempted to escape. The l vessel was then fired upon until halt | ed, and without further orders, low
 cred several boats. After the crew | entered the boats and received enough l time to row away, the ship was sunk. l The name of this steamer was not
 estabiished; it cannot be stated with
 assurance, even with the help of the l details which were furnished by the l Am erican embassy, that the above de- l scribed incident concerns the steamer | Berwindvale. Since, however, the ] steamer sunk was 8 tank steamer like the Berwindvale, the identity of the l ships may be assumed. Tn this case,
 however, the statement made that the 1 Berwindvale was torpedoed without l warning would conflict with the facts. Ships Did Not Heed Warning.
 Second: The British steamer Eng- | lishman. This steamer on March 24 | was called upon to halt by a German 1 submarine through two warning shots | about twenty sea miles west of Islay (HebrldeS). The vessel proceed ed
 without needing the warning, and was ! therefore forced by the submarines by
 artillery fire to halt after an extended
 chase; whereupon she lowered boats | without further orders After the Ger l man commandant had convinced him.
 self that the crew had taken to the l boats and roWed from the ship, he l sank the steamer.
 l 'Third: The British steamer Man. l chester Engineer. It is impossible to l establish through the investigation up I to the present whether the attack on l this steamer, which, according to the 1 given description, occurred on March l 21, in the latitude of Waterford, is at ! tributable to a German submarine. 1 The statement regarding the time and l place of the incident gives no suffi 1 cient basis for investigation. It would l therefore be desirable to have more l exact statements of the place, time
 and attendant circumstances of the at
 tack reported by the American gov
 ernment in order that the investiga- l tion might thereupon be brought to a 1 conclusion.
 Eagle Points Crew Responsible. "F'ourth: The British steamer
 Eagle Point This steamer in the | forenoon of March 28 was called upon
 to halt by a German subma rine l through signal and shot about 1OO-
 not 13O-sea miles from the southwest ! coast of Ireland, but proceeded. She ! was thereupon fired upon until halt
 ed, and, without further orders, low
 cred two boats, in which the crew took
 their places. After the commandant
 convinced himself that the boats
 which had hoisted sails, had gotten
 clear of the steamer, he sank the | steamer.
 At the time of the sinking a north
 northwest wind of the strength of two
 not a storm wind and a light swell 1 not a heavy sea, as stated in tn l given description, prevailed. The
 boats therefore had every prospect of 1 being picked up very quickly because
 the place of the sinking lay on a
 much used steamer path.
 eff the crew of the steamer used
 only two small boats for saving them l selves, the responsibility falls upon | themselves, since they were still upon ! the steamer as the submarine could
 establish, at least four or the big col ! lapSible boats.
 The Case of the Sussex.