The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1916-01-14

MESSAGE DRAFTED BY PRESI-
DENT is COMPLETED AND
READY FOR VIENNA.
MUST DISAVOW SHIP ATTACK
Complete Text of the Austrian Reply
TO Washington's First Note on the
Ancona Case is Made Public by the
State Department

Ancona Case Is Made Public by the
State Department.
Washington, Dec. 20.-President
Wilson completed the first draft of the
new note TO Austria-Hungary reiterat-
ing the American demands regarding
the sinking OF the Italian steamship
Ancona. The note was signed by Sec
rotary Lansing.
Text of Austrian Reply.
Austria's reply to the American note
on the sinking of the Italian liner An
coma, as made public on Saturday by
the state department, follows:
American Embassy, Vienna. Dec. 10,
l915.-Secretary of State, Washing
ton: Following note received from min
lister of foreign affairs at noon today:
In reply to the much esteemed note
4167, which his excellency.
Frederic CORTLAND Penfield, ambassa-
dor extraordinary and plenipotentiary
OF the United States of America. di-
rected to him in the name of the
American government under date of
the 9th inst, in the matter of the
of the Italian steamer Ancona,
the undersigned, preliminary to a thor
ough, meritOrious treatment of the de-
mand, has the honor to observe that
the sharpness with which the govern
ment of the United States considers it
necessary to blame the commanding
officer of the submarine concerned in
the affair and the firmness in which
the demands addressed to the imperial
and royal government appear to be eX-
pressed might well have warranted the
expectation that the government of
the United States should precisely
specify the actual circumstances of
the affair upon which it bases its
case
Sees Room for Many Doubts.
"As is not difficult to perceive, the
of the facts in the case
in the aforesaid note leaves room for
many doubts, and even if this pres
were correct in all points and
the most rigorous legal conception
were applied to the Judgment of the
case, it does not in any way sufficient
fy warrant attaching blame to the COM
officer of the war vessel or
to the imperial and royal government.
"The government of the United
States has also failed to designate the
persons upon whose testimony it re-
lies and TO whom it apparently be-
lieves 1t may attribute higher degree
of credibility than to the commander
Of the imperial and royal fleet"
THE imperial and royal govern
ment is in principle ready to enter
into an exchange of views in the af-
fair with the government of the United
States.
1T must, however, in the first place,
raise the question why that govern
ment failed to give judicial reasons for
the demands set forth in it's note with
reference to the special circumstances
Of the discriminating events upon
which it itself lays stress, and why In
Of correspondence which it has con-
Quoted with another government in
other cases.
Wishes Points of Law Set Out.
THE imperial and royal govern
ment is the less able to follow the
Washington cabinet on this unusual
hu
authentic knowledge OF all of the
pertinent correspondence of the gov
of the United States, nor is
t of the opinion that such knowl.
edge might be sufficient for it in the
present case, which in so far as il
5 informed is in essential points OF
another nature than the case or cases
o which the government of the
United States seems to allude. The
and royal government may
therefore leave it to the Washington
cabinet TO formulate the particular
points of la~ against which the COM
officer of the submarine is
alleged to have offended on the oc-
,asion of the sinking of the Ancona.
To Maintain Own Legal Views.
The government of the United
States has also seen fit to refer to
he attitude which the Berlin cab
net assumed in the aforementioned
The imperial and
oval government finds in the much
esteemed note no indication whatever
If the intent with which this refer
.nce was made. Should, however.
he government of the United States
hereby have intended to EXPRESS an
opinion TO the effect that a pref
ldice of whatever nature existed for
he imperial and royal government
With respect TO the judicial consid-
,ration of the affair in question. this
must. in order TO pre-
dude possible Observation-Disclosures de-
,lare that as a matter OF course il re-
serves TO itself full freedom of main |
aiming its own legal views i'm the dis
.ussion of the case of the Ancona.
The imperial and royal government
most sincerely deplores the fate of the |
innocent victims OF the incident in
question. BURIAN."