The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-05-18
Complains to America That
French and Italian Craft Vio-
late Rules Of Warfare
DUTCH SHIP SUNK;
ONE AMERICAN DEAD
Indiscriminate Mining of Sea
Lanes May Be Cause of
Careful lnvestigation-Sub-
marine Question Up Again

lions charging the French and
italian governments with "Inten-
tionaI murder" In their submarine
operations In awaited with the
greatest interest and anxiety b, the
state Department.
According to dispatches from
k~ana, the nete alleges that enemy
submarines destroycd without
warning the hospital ship Electra
and the peareahIe merchant ship
Duhr"yntk. ON which were women
and children and that torp~dees
were launched without warning at
two other peseeabie vessels. the
Dsniei-Erno. and the Zagreb.
The state Department is prepared to
me@t-4A4- issue o4.-4tS-s44erits. II A4e-.
proof Is sufficient, the department will
be compelled TO lodge vigorous pro-
test with the allied governments
charged with the offen2es, and inqutr-
les will be made concerning the in
structions issued TO their submarine
commanders.
The first inquiries of the state De-
partment. IL was said, would he whcth
er Americans were aboard the vessels
thorfzeu by the French aud Italian
governments
Would Merit same Treatment
The State Department did not at
tempt to conceal that II II should de
velop that allied naval commander
had been guilty of the practices for
" hich The United states threatened TO
sever diplomatic relations with Ger
many. the aggravation would be es-
Th--+ila-s- govern
nfeHtF have not furnished this country
with copies of their instructions TO
submarine comma pders. IL ii should be
proved that they permit the practices
implanted of BY Austria Hungary. the
situation confronting the United States
would be practically the-+++4le ~ In
the case of Germany.
Great Britain and France repeatedly
have charged Germany with violating
the rules of naval warfare and the
United States has accepted rs valid
evidence statements and exhibits fur
nished against Germany 10y the allied
governments II was said at the state
Department today that for this reason
Il would be impossible to pass 10y tue
Austro- Hungarian note without TAX
ing action upon II,
The only action commensurate with
the crime charged. II vas declared
would be an exhaustive investigation
and severe denunciation should the
charges he proved.
Submarine Issue Up Again.
The submarine question Was further
revived today by the reported sink
ing of passenger vessels The Ameri-
can consul at La Rochelle. France. sent
the following; canadian steamer
Eretria sunk presumably by a mine.
Crew unintured Three Americans on
board"
!, report from Consui-Generai Skin
Eretria, said:
yesterday sunk now announced by
Lloyds as torpedoed. Crew picked up
and brought to Nantes"
Consui-General Skinner. al London.
reported another sch disaster as fol-
lows: Dutch ship Batavia V. passen-
ger vessel trading between London
and Rotterdam, reported sunk off Cab
bard Captain and twenty-fou of
crew landed at Yarmouth. Seven p1s.
sengs also landed, including two
Americans. two Dutch. two Russians
Four persons reported drowned. three
Dutch sailors and one American. The
first report suggests that the vessei
was mined.
The State Department already has
begun inquiries in both cases. 1t was
stated that this government might ex-
tend its investigation to determine
whether there is an indiscriminate
planting of mines in North Sea steam
err lanes aud In the approaches to thu
North Sea-