The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-09-10
GERMANY DRAGS
SWEDEN INTO
U-B0AT GRIMES
United States Will Demand
an Explanation from
Stockholm
GERMAN INTRIGUES
FOUND IN ARGENTINA
May Mean a Break Between
Germany and Ar
gentina

Washington Sept. l0.-A great inter
national sensation which stands out
,startlingly even in these days when the
relations between nations are all awry
and the world is surfeited with stupen'
dous events, was furnished by the secre-
tary of state Saturday. Secretary Ian
sing gave to the press copies of dispatches
containing unneutral information for the
German government sent in the Swedish
code through the Swedish legation in
Buenos Ayres by the German charge DAT
flares at that capital. These dispatches,
together with brief Introductory note
by Secretary Lansing, amount not only
TO direct charge of unneutral conduct
against the Swedish diplomatic represen-
tative to Argentina, but virtual accuse
tion of double dealing against the Swed-
ish government itself.
The secretary of states startling dis
closure makes the. Swedish government,
already strongly suspected of pro-Ger-
man tendencies, stand accused before the
world of having acted as a go-between
for the dispatch of military and other
,lnneutral information valuable to the
1HlptIihI IultlN di Dtlllllt bAhtl W iNt 'hb
off from obtaining advices concerning the
operations of their enemies. Whether
the United States government and the
governments of the other allies will
break relations with Sweden remains for
the future to develop. The Swedish gov
eminent will be given an opportunity to
explain before further steps are taken by
the United States.
1t is inevitable that the German charge
d'affaires at Buenos Ayres will be dis
missed by the Argentine government and
not unlikely that relations between Ger
many and Argentine, already strained,
will be severed. 1t is also inevitable that
the Swedish diplomatic representative
there win be recalled unless the Argen-
tine government hands him his passports
without waiting to hear the disposition
of the Stockholm government. No other
course would satisfy the United States
and the nations engaged in war against
Germany.
Part of the information sent by the
German charge daffaires at Buenos Ayres
through the Swedish legation under COW
err of the Swedish secret diplomatic ci-
pher code, guaranteed by the good faith
of Sweden not to use it for unneutral
purposes, was notice to the German gov
eminent that two Argentine steamers
We're nearing the port of Bordeaux,
France. With true respect for the pol
icy of frightfulness, the German diplo-
mat recommended to his chiefs in Berlin |
that these vessels "be spared if possible
or else sunk without a trace being left"
As far as the United States govern
bo RI tbaca |
two vessels. One dispatch sent through
the medium of the obliging Swedish lega-
ton indicates why the German charge
d'affaires was willing that these ships
might be spared:
Argentine ships are small and-so his
message is to be construed-could bring
little food or other supplies to Germany's
enemies. But If the German government
couldn't resist the satisfaction of having
them sunk by U-boats, the job should be
done so that no telltale trace of the Ar
gentine vessels would be left and no
member of the crews should be spared
from death to furnish evidence of Ger
man ruthlessness and thus probably
cause a break in relations between Ger
many and Argentine, the last important
American nation except Chill that is still q
relations with Berlin. &
A break in relations between Germany {
and Argentina would prevent the Ger 6
man legation in Buenos Ayres from send !
ing military information to Berlin
through the obliging legation of Sweden
there. 1t would probably also put an
End to the proGerman propaganda in
propaganda carried on through
newspapers whose activities became so
obnoxious that the Argentine govern
nent has taken steps to suppress it.
In the minds of persons here in a po 5
'ition to understand the governments |
yiew, the most important feature of Sec
'etary Lansing's exposure of Swedish du-
,lcity is the willingness of the Swedish
representative in Buenos Ayres to trans \
nit to his government for the benefit of Z
Germany information which leaves the
swedish legation in Buenos Ayres &C. I
used of having endorsed the German
,olicy of submarine ruthlessness.
In permitting the German charge DAT
aires to send tips of the whereabouts of
merchant ships to Berlin, the Swedish
diplomatic representative in the Argen-
inc capital gave his sanction to murder
us methods that have aroused the in c
ignation of the decent part of the world. b
he German charge d'affaires, by consent c
( the Swedish representative advocated d
he sinking of Argentine steamers so \
hat there would be no evidence left eth v
r in the way of wreckage or through S
umsn testimony. p
These ships should be treated. he sug-
ested, "spurlos versenki," sunk without
trace being left. That was in mes
age last May. In July he recommended
he same thing as an alternative, repeat.
~ in way to Indicate that he was
GLOWING a set formula. the suggestion o.
ito quote the July message sinking 2,