The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1916-10-07
STANDING Of
SWEDEN IN
QUESTION
Great Britain Dissatisfied With At
titude of Neighbor Toward
Neutral Shipping
CLAIM NO ATTEMPT TO
REGULATE WARSHIPS
Accusations Bring Forth sharp Re-
joinder and Relations Are
In Danger

LONDON, Sept. %. - The reia-
tons between Sweden and the IN
tente powers are attracting unusual
attention here and there is every
indication that the situation three
tens to become somewhat tense.
With the dispute as to mail sci
lures still unsettled, there now has
arisen the charge by the entente
that the neutrality of Sweden
is not so loyal and impartial as it
should be.
This has drawn from Stockholm
a reply as tart and crisp as some
of the notes in the mail controversy,
which were characterized by Wis
count Gray as containing words not
unusually found in diplomatic cor
respondence
Confidence is expressed in the
tact and ability of the British min
lister to Sweden, Sir Esme-Howard,
to handle Great Britain's interests,
for he already has done much to
smooth over many points of fric-
ton that have arisen since the war
began. Sir Esme has been given full
authority to act in the mails dis
pute in cooperating with the other
entente diplomats at Stockholm in
making representations as to the
latest matters in controversy.
The new point of contact with
Sweden is the outgrowth of the
prartjoa IF ho1Iiporont cbippino in
using Swedish territorial waters for
all Baltic traffic. Within the safety
of this neutral three-mile limit, Eng
l'sh and other ships of the entente
nations have sailed defiantly into
and out of the Baltic, paying not
the slightest heed to the German
fleet looking on from the outer
waters.
Similarly, German merchant ships
have sailed up and down the west
coast of Sweden, heavily laden
with foodstuffs and iron ores, while
reaches of the Baltic have been
impOtent to act.
This practice placed a heavy res
possibility III on Sweden and kept
her fleet busy day and night pa
trolling the territorial waters in
despite which precautions there
were several violations of Swedish
neutrality. Public sentiment in
Sweden was aroused and the gov
eminent determined to mine the
waters of Kogrund channel leading
out of the sound in to the Baltic.
Sweden also served notice that
her naval commanders had been in
structed to fire upon all submarines
found prOwling within the three
mile limit. This policy scarcely
had been announced when news
came of the successful trip of the
Deutschland from Bremen to Balti-
more and there arose the question
as to whether Swedish warships
would fire at sight of a German
merchant submarine or whether
they would only fire at entente sub
marines, knowing these powers
were not using commercial under
sea boats.
The situation vas further compli-
Gated by a later determination of
the Swedish government to close the
kogrund channel entirely to all ey-
cept Swedish vessels. Then the en-
tente allies decided to protest. Ac-
cording to reports received here,
there was much eXcitment in Stock
holm when the allied note arrived,
and it was promptly described by
the pro-German papers as an ulti-
matum.
The entente allies protested that
in reserving exclusively to Swedish
merchant ships the track across In
mine fields established in the Ko-
grund channel, Sweden had closed
the only route by which English,
french and other entente allied
vessels could pasc into and out of
the Baltic protected from attack by
German naval forces.
On the other hand, the note point
ed out the Swedish government not
only left open in territorial waters
DcI"eeH hdidHldT strait anu Luied
a route which is accessible only to
Swedish and German ships under
the new arrangement, but further
assured to these vessels the pro-
lection of an escort across the
Russian naval force.
With regard to submarines the
British protest declared that Swe-
den declared to establish under
water boats armed for wal purposes
and other submarines a distinction,
in virtue of which so-called submar-
ines OF commerce, a type not EN-
ployed by the entente allies, might
with immunity navigate Swedish ter
ritorial waters beneath the sur
face.