Evening star., 1916-10-31
Secretary Lansing Refuses to
Discuss Case Owing to In
complete Reports.
GERMAN EMBASSY SURE
PLEDGE WAS NOT BROKEN
If Submarine Commander Exceeded
Orders, However, Then Punish
ment Will Follow, It Is Said.

Secretary Lansing said today that his
reports on the destruction of the British
ship Marina with probable loss of Ameri-
can lives. still were too incomplete to
permit of any conclusions or to allow
MIN TO discuss the case. Full reports
with afidavits of American survivors
have been ordered by cable
The German embassy does not believe
the evidence Will show the pledges
given to the United States have been
violated 1t is said at the embassy.
however, that If a commander of a sub
marine has violated or exceeded his or
ders his action would be promptly met
with severe punishment
officials of the embassy feel that Con-
SUI Frosts dispatch yesterday. saying
the Marina had been shelIed Indicated
that the vessel was trying to escape.
Adds Gravity to Situation.
This mornings news dispatches. how
ever. saying some of the survivors had
seen the wake of a torpedo and that
the ship was struck twice, added gray
ity to the situation.
Officials noted also that the British
admiralty was not prepared to say the
ship was torpedoed.
Entirely aside from the first aspects
OF the case. officials made it clear that
no conclusions could be drawn until
all apparently conflicting circum-
stances had been cleared up and evil
dence had been gathered in legal form.
Admittedly. the case was viewed as
more serious than any other since de-
struction of the Sussex as il is the
| first involving loss of American life
/ but the State Department gave no evil
dence of tension as it set about gath
| ering the facts.
Reports Not Confirmed.
Today's news dispatches indicating
| that the sea was very rough at the
time of the sinking and that the ves-
sci was sunk by two torpedoes rather
than by gunfire had not been confirmed
| in any official dispatches today
| Since the original reports given out
Yesterday morning the State Depart
ment has not made any further in
handled directly by Secretary Lansing
| himself. and any further facts will be
given out through him, when made
public.
Not Under Charter.
| According to the agents in this coun-
try Of the Marinas owners. the Donald
son line, the vessel. with some nifty
| American horse tenders aboard. was
not under charter to the British gov
ernment a transport. but was en-
gagged III her regular trade as a
| freighter and carried horses for the
allies as part of her general cargo
Under such circumstances she would be
| entitled to all the immunities of any
other belligerent-owned merchantmen
daSfrDyinO har
contraband cargo would be required to
make due provision for the safety of
the ships company, unless she was
sunk in the act of attempting to escape
Apparently all depends upon whether
the Marina actuaily was attacked with
out warning or whether she is to be
recorded as only another Of the scores
Of British carriers that have gone to
the bottom as the result of their ship
pers' desperate efforts to outrun enemy
shells.
officials Optimistic.
Most of the officials of the depart
ment are inclined to be very optimistic.
They point out that time after time
first accounts have made it appear that
a ship had been sunk illegally. and that
every instance since the Sussex COM
plete reports have proved that no laws
or pledges had been violated by the
submarine destroyer.
Comparatively little Importance is
attached to the case of the Rowan
more, because it is admitted that the
vessel attempted to escape and only
stopped after fleeing fifty minutes and
having her steering gear shot away
There was heavy fog at the time, and
officials think it would have been easy
for panic-stricken sailors leaving their
battered ship to have imagined that the
submarine was sending shells in their
direction. This opinion is strengthened
by the fact that no one was lost