The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-26

| VerSy.
Count Won Bernstorff was so inform
! ed at a conference which he had yes
| terday afternoon with Secretary Ian
| sing. While the ambassador expects
to confer again with the secretary, it
! is not now expected that anything ap-
| preaching a definite understanding
can be reached until after the en-
| bassy has received further instruc
| lions from Berlin.
Though the latest exchange of
views has failed to bring about an
agreement between the two govern
ments, both at the State Department
and at the embassy confidence was ex-
pressed that a basis of settlement
would be reached in the near future.
It was learned that the stumbling
block consists in the unwil1ingness of
! the German government to admit that
the course of her submarine warfare
at the time the Lusitania was destroy
ed was illegal Though willing to pay
indemnity for the lives of the Ameri-
cans who were lost, the German gov
eminent wishes to- pay this indemnity
as an act of grace, rather than upon
any admission of wrongdoing.
A Critical Point
To admit that the attack on the
Lusitanfa was Illegal, the German
government contends, would involve
an admi ssion that the entire subna-
rine compaign launched against Brit
ish shipping as a reprisal was illegal.
It also would be tantamount, 1t is
commended, to an admission In TOTO OF
the claims of the american govern
men that a neutral citizen surrenders
none of his rights by travelling
through a war zone on merchant
ships of a belIigerent power
To this view the United States has
refused absolutely to DEFER Its posi-
ton in this respect has not altered one
iota since the beginning of the "confi-
Dental negotiations between the am
bassador and the Secretary or state.
From the first Secretary Lansing mas
insisted that Germany should admit
the illegality Of the act and make
amends accordingly.
Time and again Count Won Bern
storff, it is said, has submitted the
proposition of his government IN va
rying forms, btu each time the secre-
tary has detected an effort to avoid
the satisfaction demanded; tnougn
with each successive discussion the
ambassador has come nearer to meet
ing the demands.
Some Concessions Made.
On less essential points, it was
learned. the German government has
made concessions. She has consentea
to eliminate from the discussions the
fact that prior to the sailing OF the
I,11sitania on her fatal trip the Ger
man Embassy through advertisements
in the New York papers and by per-
sonal messages advised the Americans
in the passenger list not to sail on the
steamer This was objec1onable 10
the United States
There is reason to believe also that
the United States has successfully de-
clared against inclusion in the agree7
ment of a.. suggestion that this coun-
try has bargained with Germany for a
settlement on the basis of promise
toe
a notification by Great Britain of her
blockade policies
If this subject is mentioned it will
be merely by way Of recalling the fact
that the United States invited Ger
many to cooperate in maintaining the
freedom of the seas and that Germany
stands ready to do this
In denying that Count Won Bern
storff had presented to the State De-
partment any note. or other formal
communication from ms government
on the subject of the Lusitania con-
troversy State Department officials
explained that the memorandum from
Count Won Bernstorff to Mr.. Lansing
came under the classification of con
fdsntiaI correspondence," which being
of an entire informal character and
subject to withdrawal modification
did not commit the parties to the cor
respondence-
Denies Demands Met.
Indignation was expressed in official
circles over published reports to the
effect that Germany had met all the
American demands. Secretary Lam
sing commenting on the reports said:
fYou may quote me as saying that
the stories printed this morning were
mere conjectures, without any foun-
dalton in fact
Although the cabinet met yesterday
in one of the longest sessions in re-
cent weeks it was denied on all sides
that the Lusitania matter came up for
discussion. After luncheon Secretary
Lansing called up Count Won Bern
storf by telephone and requested him
to call at, the State Department at 8
o'clock The two were in conference
exactly 20 minutes.
After the interview the secretary
merely announced that the talk related
to the Lusitania controversy, but that
obth he and the ambassador had
agreed not to disclose any. information
concerning it.
When it became known that the
principal point upon which negotta.-
lions were now tied up concerned the
refusal of Mr.. Lansing to accept any
half way admission that the attack on
the Lusitania was Illegal, it was at
once assumed in many quarters that
on similar grounds the State Depart
ment would find it impossible to ac-
cept the form of Austria's offer to
pay indemnity for the lives of the
Americans lost on the Ancona.
In her second reply to the Ameri-
can demands, Austria after setting |
forth the facts of the attack as sub /
mitted by the Austrian submarine
commander, makes the reservation |
that, on the basis of these facts, she
cannot be held liable for damages.
Willing to Pay
If, however, she states the United |
States, because of lack of material
proofs, is unable to determine for her
self the circumstances under which
the Americans on the Ancona lost
their lives ''the Royal Governm ent |
in consideration for the humanely re- |
grettab1e incident, and by a desire to /
proclaim once again it's friendly feel
ings toward the Federal Government, |