The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-09-12
SWEDEN SAYS
; ; .1ESSAGESARE
TRANSMITTED
But Minister Ignorant of the
Contents
PRAC CTlCE WAS KNOWN
EnaIand and United States Had Been
Informed But Had Made No
Objection.

Stockholm, Sept. 11.-Baron Low
en-, the Swedish minister to Argen-
tina, will not be recalled, according
to statement made to the press to-
night by Admiral Liniman, minister
of foreign affairs.
The Foreign Minister told the news
papermen that Baron Lowen was not
blameable for the tenor of the mes
sages which passed through the Swe-
dish legation, sent by the German
charge to the Berlin Foreign Office
and as he had acted in good faith and
did not know the contents of the dis
patches he could not be recalled.
London, Sept. 1.-THE Swedish
Foreign Office, according TO a dis
patch from Copenhagen to the Ex
change Telegraph Company, has is
sued the following statement regard
ing the Swedish-Argentinian reyela-
tions:
The Swedish Foreign Office has
not received any account regarding
the transmission of the kilograms
mentioned in the statements of the
Government of the United States, and
the Swedish government, there fore,
is unable at present to determine
what its position should be on the
questions opened by the these state
ments.
1T is, however, accurate to say
that just after the world war broke
out the Swedish Foreign Minister ex-
pressed the opinion that he ousht to
transmit a German telegram concern
ing the civil population of Kiaochow
(the former German fortress in the
Chinese peninsula Of Shantung).
Statements to the same effect
were made to the representatives Of
both belligerent groups without there
being any question of Sweden taking
over representation of any powers In
terests
"As regards the United States in
particular. the United States minis
ter here has this year in certain spe'
cial cases demanded and obtained per
mission to transmit letters to and
from Turkey and at time when Tur-
key was not in a state of war with
America and when Sweden had not
yet taken over the protection of
American interests.
"In the summer of 1915 the wish
was expressed from the British side
that the transmission of kilograms
between Germany and North Ameri-
ca should cease No formal demand
was made, but Notwithstanding this
the Foreign Minister acceded to the
wish. The Swedish minister. who was
cognizant of all the negotiations, was
of the opinion that this was no bar to
the continued transmission Of tele-
grams to neutral states other than
the United States and therefore to
Argentina. Since then Sweden has
continued to be the intermediary for
communications between Germany
and the Argentine.
"The tlegram mentioned In the
American statement was written in
code, and in transmitting it the Swed-
jsh minister was by that reason un'
able to decipher it. Whether its con-
tents were as reported is a point
which the first duty of the Swedish
government must be to confirm, and
its next action must be to get an ex
planation from Germany If 1t be
| found that any misuse has taken
place Sweden will also, without re
gard to any reference made to her
take measure to prevent any repeti
tion of the incident.
'No application as to the cessa
tion OF the transmission of telegrams
from Germany to the Argentine Re
public has yet been made, either by
the British or the American govern
ments. even now or at any earlier
period.