Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-02-07
Denies That U. S. Made
New Demands When Case
Was Nearly Settled
BY .issociatea Press

Washington, d. c.. Feb. 7.-Sec-
retary Lansing to-day flatIy denied
that new demands had been made in
the Lusitania case at a time when
the German Government considered
the negotiations practically at
an end. He was speaking of the Ber-
lin dispatches quoting the references
by DR.. Zimmerman, German under
secretary OF Foreign Affairs to new
demands"
Secretary Lansing would not go into
details or discuss DR.. Zimmerman's
statement further. When DIR. Zim-
merman's statement was published in
this country. however, this reference
to new demands was taken to apply
TO a possible construction on the word
Illegal in the proposed form of set
tlement. The only ground American
officials could find for constituting that
as embodying a new demand was the
possibility that it might be considered
applicable not alone to the destruc-
tion of neutrals on the Lusitania, but
also as to the method by which she
was sunk.
Situation Unchanged
secretary Lansing repeated that he
expected to confer with President Will
son some time during the day.
Secretary Lansing made it known,
however, that the State department.
Chairman Stone. of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, said after talk
ing with administration officials that
his impression was the Lusitania case
was practically settled" He did not
go into details. Secretary Lansing in
dicated that some announcement
might be given out for publication
within the next few days.
Administration afiiclals let it be
known that mere choice of words
would not be permitted to stand i'm
the way of success of the negotiations
and that the United States will not in
sist in the use of the world Illegal"
or "disavowal' in Germany's acknowl-
edgment that sinking of the liner with
out warning and the loss of 115 Amer
lean lives was wrong
Inasmuch as the proposal now be-
fore President Wilson and Secretary
Lansing is described in German quar-
ters as substituting for the word 'ille-
GAL" a phrase which Germany homes
will be acceptable to the United States
as covering the same point without
humilitating Germany, and having re-
CARDS for public opinion in that coun-
try, this announcement was taken as
strengthening the optimistic atmos-
phere which surrounds the neRotia-
tions
The principal consideration of the
United States now Is that there shall
be an acknowledgment by Germany
that the sinking of an unresisting mer-
chantman without warning is in con-
travention of internal law and that
such naval warfare shall be pern1a-
nently discontinued. The German
contention is that such assurances al
ready have been given in the Arabic
case and that all remains in the Lusi-
tania case is reparation for the lives
of neutrals and an Acknowledgement
that It was wrong to destroy them.
This latter is contained in the Ger
man proposal as at present framed
without the specific use of the word
illegal"
Text of Note
The full text of Count Won Berns-
torff's note, delivered to Secretary
Lansing on September /, 1915, was as
follows:
My Dear Secretary: With refer
ence to our conversation of this morn
ing. beg to inform you that my in
structions concerning our answer to
your last Lusitania note contain the
following passage:
Liners will not be sunk by our