The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-04

, the belief that the final explanation
 of the latest incident would be satisfac
 tory. He is said to have assured the secretary of his belief that if an Aus | trian submarine commsnder violated l the principles of international law and the rules of humanity, his, government l would be quick to take action which would fully satisfy the United States. l Baron Zwiedinek also sought informa- 1 tion for the benefit of his government. Secretary Lansing today instructed | Ambassador Penfield at Vienna to
 make informal inquiries which might lead to the establishment of the iden- l tity of the submarine which sank the Persia, or the receipt of information concerning the circumstances of the
 attack
 l The secretary acted upon an indica : l tfon received from an undisclosed source that no submarines of other than Austrian nationality were known l to be operating near the point where l the Persia went down. No specific I instructions were given to Ambassador Penfield. He is expected to proceed as he thinks best and forward any l information obtainble. Officials here are not finally convinced that a sub marine was responsible for the sink ing of the Persia and still see remote possibility that the vessel might have struck floating mine which had drift ed to that part of the sea from some adjacent field of operations
 CONSIDER REPORT THAT STEAMER CARRIED GUN The report that the liner was carry ing AZ gun served to revive consid- eration of the position taken by the United States in regard to armed mer- chantmen In the early days of the war it was announced that. merchant ire halo v,ertr tn ha1J ,srrI,t be allowed to enter and leave, Ameri can waters with guns of six-inch cali bre or less, mounted upon their sterns. At that time cruisers of the central powers had not been swept from the seas. Later Great Britain and France. at the suggestion of the United States, agreed that their ships coming into American waters should not be armed, thus eliminating the possibility of controversy over that point so far as vessels plying out of ports of the Uni ted States were concerned.
 Since then, all war craft of the Teu- tonic allies, with the exception of sub- marines, have disappeared from the high seas. Consequently. it is consid- cred in some quarters that merchant men mounting guns even of smaller calibre and astern, might be considered prepared for resisting a hostile sub marine.
 secretary Lansing ana OtHef OIIlcldlS have considered this view with great carefulness. The secretary said today he was not prepared to announce the attitude of the United States on this point in the future It is understood l that he was awaiting an opportunity l to discuss the matter and it's various ramifications with President Wilson l The Italian ambassador, Count Di Cellere, called on Mr. Lansing during | the afternoon seeking information on l the question. He was referred to the position taken by the United States at the beginning of the war, which was l in line with the provisions of Tho
 Hague convention permitting arma. 1 ment for defensive purposes.
 ADMITS LUSITANIA
 l WAS NOT ARMED
 l During a later discussion of the sub l ject Secretary Lansing revealed that Ger 1 many had abandoned its contention that
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