Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SEND 0111MST WORD J ft I I l -■ ATHTIDE OF ENflLAND NONE OF OERMANY’S CONCERN ACCEPTS SUB PROMISES Wnikm TfJls Rmptra That TliJs Owintry Will Not Consider That } Ttwtonlc Promise is to be Depend* , -out Upon the Acts of Croat Britain -A —Relations Continue for Present. "Further word—and the l&at—has «one to Berlin from Washington In connection with tho submarine issue. The German government is Informed, In a brief note, that the imperial government's communication of May 4 is accepted by the United States as containing assurance that Illegal Ger man methods of submarine warfare have been abandoned. This government had Insisted that GertBany should immediately “de- rtare and effect" an abandonment of sutih methods. The notq that went forward to imporial government’s "declaration of its abandonment" of the policy to which the United States had objected. * This response to the German, note of May 4, which was an answer to the American demand for the aban donment of submarine practicea in violation of the laws of nations and humanity, is intended to clear up any misunderstanding of Germany’s meaning in the May 4 communica tion. This government gives that mean- in* the interpretation of a complete compliance with the wishes of the United States. But the American note notifies Germany that the Unit ed States "cannot for a moment en tertain, much less discuss.” the sug gestion contained in the German note that the carrying out of the new sub marine policy ahould be contingent upon the conduct of Great Britain. Germany had indicated that if the United States did not succeed In in ducing Greet Britain to abandon her embargo on foodstuffa Intended for the population of Germany, "the Ger man government would then be fac ing a new aituatlon In which It must reserve to Itself complete library of action." ’’Responsibility in such matters Is single, not Joint; absolute, not rela tive." declares the United States in refusing to acknowledge that Ger man obligation to respect Ameriran rights on the high seas la dependent on the conduct of a third nation. fallowing In tho test of the bote cabled Monday by Secretary I.ansing to Ambassador Gerard at Bsrlin with Instructions to deliver it to the Ger man minister of foreign affairs; "The note of the Imperial German government under date of May 4, 1914, has resolved careful considera tion by the government of the United WAtas. It l« especially noted, as In Seating the purpose of tho imperial gowrnmost aa to the future, that It hi prepared to do its utmost to con fine the operation of the war for the up to this altered policy we can havo aa^reason to quarrel with, her on that score, though the losses result ing from the violation of American rights by German submarine com manders operating under the former policy will have to be settled. * "While our differences with Great Britain cannot form a subject of dis cussion with Germany it ahould be stated that in our dealings with the British government wo are acting aa we were ^unquestionably hound to act In view of the explicit treaty en gagements with that government. We have treaty obligations as to the manner In which matters tn dispute between the two governments are to be handled. “We offered to submit mutually similar obligations with Germany but the offer was declined. When, how ever, the object In dispute is a con tinual menace to American lives It Is doubtful whether such obligations apply unless such menace Is removed during the pendency of the proceed ings.” . The treaty with the British gov ernment referred to is the convention negotiated by Former Secretary Bryan under which the two nations agree that any dispute arisfbg shall be submitted to an Investigating commission for one year before en tering Into hostilities. An offer to enter Into such a treaty for Germany brought a request for information but formal negotiations never were instituted. The hope that the note might end the discussion regarding the conduct of submarine warfare was entertain ed by some officials and by persons in close touch with the German em bassy. Should this prove true, no more ships carrying American citi zens being sunk In violation of the yrincllles of International law, the way would be cleared for renewal of negotiations of settlement of the Lusitania, Arabic, Sussex and other cases growing out of Illegal sub marine attacks. In other official quarters, how ever. there apaprently was uncertain ty regarding the result which the note might have. A new crisis, It was pointed out. would arise should Germany make a rejoinder to he communication and Insist that its new policy Is contingent npon ths United States making certain de mands upon Great Britain. The note sent to Berlin is very generally regarded In Washington as a proper retort to the tone of the German communication of May 4. It •a believed to be literally the last 'word, short of any notice that might be given to the German jfovernflmiht that relations between the two gov ernments were broken.' Such notice would be given if Germany should return to the submarine practicea which thla government has denounc ed aa Illegal and Inhumane, and which practices are regarded as hav ing been abandoned. The American note places the Ger man government In the position of pledging Itself to carry on submarine warfare In accordance with the prtn- clplea asserted by the United States. What Germany's course will be when the American note has been consid ered by the Imperial government is a question It it understood that Count von OUR NOTE PLEASES BERLIN; TDY||U(i Tfl fiFT WAR ENDS MATTER TREY TB1NK ,,llll,U ,u ,,L, ” m Idea la That Gov< Win Try departmeht formally that the clause In the Ger HV man note of May 4. which has been rest of lta duration to tba fighUng! conttnied In some quarters aa mak ing the abandonment of Germany's Hlegal submarine policy contingent upon this government inducing Great Britain to modify her blockade of Germany, was not Intended as a con- dltion*. but merely aa the eapreaslen of a hope and as a suggestion It would be pleasing to the United States If the German government should confirm tl.lu Interpretation of its ambassador. But the United States is not inviting Germany to make any response to the note sent to Berlin. It does not believe that American ac ceptance of the Instruction to Ger man StrBMdfftlg 'commanders as a pledge that Illegal methods of IT- boat warfare will not be resumed Re quires any acknowledgment from Berlin. . forces of the belligerents and that It 4s determined to Imtoae upon all Its commanders at aea the llmitattona of the recognised rules of International law upon which the government of tho United States hoa Insisted. "Throughout tho months which have elapsed since tho Imperial gov ernment announced on February 4. 1919. Its aubmrrine policy, now hap pily abandoned, the government of the United States has been constantly gpided end restrained by motives of friendship in its patent efforts to bring to an amicable settlement tho crftlegr qtrefitlons arising from that policy. Accepting the Imporial gov ernment’s declaration of Its abandon ment of the policy which has so seri ously, menaced the good relations be tween tbo two countries, tho govern-' ment of the United Statca will rely upon a scrupulous execution heckti- forth of the now nltercd policy/’Jf tho imporial government such a^/will re move the principal dan^lr to an In terruption of the relations ex isting between Ane United States and Germany. V ,ih ih#( government of the United States feels It necessary to state that ft takes it for granted that tire im perial Goman government does not ntend to Imply that the maintenance of its newly announced policy is In any way contingent upon the course or result of diplomatic negotirtiona between the government of the Unit ed States and any ether belligerent gqvernmrnt, notwithstanding the fact that certain passages In the Im perial government’s note of the 4th InM. might appear to bo susceptible of that construction. In order, how ever, to avoid any possible misunder standing, the government of the United States notifies tho Imporial government that It cannot for a moment entertain, much less discuss a suggestion that respect by Gorman naval authorities for the rights of citizens of tho Unitpd States upon the! high seas should In any way or in the slightest degree be made contin gent upon the conduct of any other government affecting the rights of notitrals and non-combatants. Re sponsibility In such matters is sin gle, not joint; absolute, not rela tive" • ■ Mr. T^inslng’s statement, made,, public after the note was on Its way to Berlin, follows: "Tho greater part of the German answer is devoted to nfattors which this government cannot discuss with the Gorman government. The only question of righto which can bo dis cussed with that government is that arising out of its action or out of our otvn, and In no event those questions which arc the subject of diplomatic exchanges botweea ‘he United States and any other country. ’"The essence of the answer is that Oermany yields to our representa tions with regard to tbo'rights of merchant ships and non-combatants on the high seas and engages to ob serve the recognised rules of inter- ■atlonal law governing naval wjx- Care ia using her submarines against ships. So long os she lives to Convince American People of Good Faith. A Special dispatch to The New York Times from Berlin qays: Am bassador Gerard delivered xhe Amer ican acknowledgment of the German reply, on submarine warfare to For eign Minister von Jagow a few min utes before one o’clock Wednesday afternoon. The ambassador was clos eted with Herr von Jagow for nearly an hour. In political and diplomatic circles the note was the principal topic of conversation throughout the day. While a certain amount of umbrage was taken by many Germans, the Irri tation of German sensibilities was more than neutralized by the central fact that it did constitute an accept ance of the German answer. The last trace of tension has now disappeared.not only among the Ger man people, but in political and other well Informed circles. The hopeful feeling Is Increased to a con fidence that there is no longer any possibility of trouble with America. The strength of the New York stock exchange similarly has Influenced the Berlin Boerse. It is asserted on high authority that the imperial government will leave nothing in its power undone to convince not only the American gov ernment, but particularly the Ameri can people, that it Is acting in good faith, that its submarine promises have been honestly made and will be kept to the letter, and beyond ' all else that the German government is earnestly striving for permanent friendly relations with America. As the practical first fruits of the new policy It is hoped that the prompt settlement of the Sussex case ill measurably contribute towferd the dispelling of American doubts as to German's good faith and the ad mission of Germany's full reaponai- billty for the torpodoing of the Sus sex. together with the apolories for the submarine commander'a lament able error, and offer of reparatldn for Americans lost or injured will be interpreted by the American govern ment aa evidence of Germany's gbod faith. OBREGON HANDS ULTIMATUM TO AMERICAN GENERALS TROOPS MUST PATROL NORTHERN CHIHUAHUA Military Movement* Indicate bafor- % mal Agreement With Mexico. Reports unverified .at military headquarters that American troops are being withdrawn from San An tonio, Mexico, and other advanced bases gave rise Friday to a belief In some quarters that developments look toward a protective patrol of northern Chihuahua. Supporting this contention Is the transportation of supplies, which had been concentrated at San Antonio, back sevpnty miles to Namiquipa. It Hernstorff, the German ambassador,! *• known also that Gen. Frederick has assured the state departmatit Tn- Funston has expressed hla belief that the present line of communication 1s too long to be maintained properly It was suggested that Gen. Car ranza. faced by the political situa tion in Mexico, was unwilling tv make any written agreement to which hla opponents could point aa Indicating a surrender of soverign rights. Under that theory Gen. Ob- regon, it la understood, has given as surance* that every possible means will be employed by his government to aid in speedy extermination of the IV emu SOS O^rv.v-Vi 7 IT AWS ss* i simwiwm vs »asw VV Vi i V IS XI 1 U I lilX?t seiiu V li Cs V bandits, while formal diplomac dAs** he has gone right back to the attt- cuaslon of the withdrawal proceeds. It ia possible that neither' aide will endeavor to force ’he negotiationa while the dlpterued condition' along the bontef continues. . — SUNK WITHOUT WARNING SUB HOLDS UP SHIP Austrian U-Boat Halt* Dutch Steam er With Warning Shell. The Dutch steamer Barendrecht, which arrived in New York Monday from Seville, Spain, reported that April 11, on her outward Journey from New York, she was held up by an Austrian submarine, which fired a shell over her and then signalled that a boat be sent^with the ship’s papers for examinaiton. Captain Captain Coerkamp said he complied and was allowed to proceed.. The Incident occurred one hundred and fifty miles south of Barcelona. Captain Coerkamp said he found tho crew of the submarine on the deck smoking. After examining the ship’s papers the submarine captain told him he had to proceed very cau tiously, because he day before,; when he notified a British steamer to stop, thp steamer opened fire. HEAVY FIGHTING AT VERDUN Gormans Make Another Attempt at Dead Man’s Hill. Hard fighting was resumed Frida? in the vicinity of Dead Maji’g Hill oi the Verdun frfint, the Germans mak ing another attempt to dislodge tin French from positions on tho slept of the hill, the capture of which or May 10 was reported by the ParL war office. Increase- in the violence of the artillery fire In Other sectors of tin Verdun front is reported, the region especially subjected to the shellini being that between Dead Man’s HU and the ^mcourt wood, to the south west In DouauiBont-Vaux dis trlct, east of the Meuse,'the bombard Right after the Colonel eenred no tice that his hat hadn’t been taken out of the’ring, the New York Times advisee him to atlr up the country for national defence, that peettfair had too strong a hold on the Ro- ygMtraa party la the Middle Weot, Austrian Passenger Boat Destroyed e by Submarine. Berlin, by wireless to Sayville: "The Austro-Hungarian passenger steamer Dubrovnik has been torpe doed and sunk by an enemy subma rine in the Adriatic,” says an Over seas News Agency announcement. The Dubrovnik was not armed and was torpedoed without any warning whatever. A Paris news agency dispatch on May 10 told of thd sinking by a French submarine in the lower Adri atic “ of an enemy transport laden with war material.” The Dubrovnik was a vessel of forty-two hundred and thirty-eight tons gross net. built in London in 1012. Marine reports show her last sailing as May 6. AIRMAN DISPELS RUMORS Hies 75 Miles to See If Carranza Troops Were Coming to Attack. Rumors that thirty-five hundred Carranza soldiers were marching ,on Columbus and that GejiJ Pershing's rear guard had been attacked were dispelled at Columbus, N. M-, Wed nesday after a reconnaissance flight made by Captain T. F. Dodd, of the aero corps. Captain-Dodd flew over territory seventy-five miles to the south and west Columbus, lie re ported seeing no Mexican soldiers and that all was quiet along the American line. FIERCE VERDUN FIGHT Terrific Attempt of Crown Prince to , Win City Continues. What seems to be the most deter- wounded and nine missing, a tola! of > J1. among hie majesty's troops and the Royal Irish constabulary. - mined effort yet made by the German crown prinrw to- break through and capture Verdun Is' rpw In progress Heavy guns are persistently pound- lag the defenses of tho fortress and bombardmenta of unprecedented vio lence ay* being followed by attacks la great forte. ' New York Herald Says War la Im pending.—Gen. Pershing to be At tacked—Tentative Agreement ite- pudlated by Carranza—Parleys a Rose to Gain Time. ‘ The following -dispatch came from El Paso Monday and Is re printed from The New York Her ald for what it is Worth. Recent events seeiA to bear out the state ment that a real crisis has oc curred, but Gen. Obregon and the Carranza representative at Wash ington depreciate such alarming reports. The Mexican de facto government has thrown the gauntlet down to the United States. Gen. Alvaro Obre gon, Mexican minister of war, and Jnan N. Amader, sub-secretary of foreign relations in Gen. Carranza's cabinet, coolly told Major Gen. Hugh L. Scott and Major Gen. Frederick Funston Monday that the presence of the American punitive expedition in Mexico no longer could be tolerated and that if Brig. Gen. Pershing is not at once withdrawn his forces would be attacked by government troops. This is the end of six days of the conference and negotiations, during which Gen. Obregon continually held out hope to the American officials that he could Induce Gen. Carranza to agree to a gradual withdrawal of the American troops. During this trine, It now develops. Gen. Obregon nas been distributing his armies to the best advantage and Is now ready to strike. Charged with trickery. Gen. Obre gon merely laughed and made aome r,-marks about al) things being fair In war, I am informed. War It now Is beyond a doubt unless the Mexican government gets off Its high horse at once. Unfortunately, there la not the slightest Indication to this When Gen. Obregon left the con ference he was asked, as a matter of fown. to send the American chief of sYnff a written communication con taining the ultimatum of his govern ment He said he would do this, and in Jauret I am Informed that this communication was written by Gen Obregon Immediately on his return and sent to Gen. Scott by special messenger. I am unable to give the text of thla communtcatioa but In effect It won that the Carranza govern ment could not longer toleratenhe presence of armed foreigners on Us soil, and that the punitive expedi tion must at once and without con- ditious of any kind whatever with draw from Mexico. Gen Scott and Gen. Funston sre determined on their course from now on. The one power that can save the situation is the president of the United States, and It Is doubtful If he can save It without a tremendous sacrifice of American dignity and self-respect. The Mexican response to.American fair dealing is Impudent defiance Gen. Obregon »*vde It perfectly clear that the Mexican government does net ‘•''a 10 dicker further and that the "wires to Washington are work ing hard, and before lhls dlapatch Is published President Wilson will have a ,full report of the momentous hap penings. , It is needless to say that the two American commanders who have been bending every energy for six dajfc to show Gen. Obregon the folly of war with the United States ard unalterably opposed to any backing down now. i They have flatly told Gen. Obre gon, not only once but twenty times in the last week, that the American punitive expedition will not be with drawn from Mexico Inside of any time limit, andTTnever will be with drawn until such time as the de facto government shows to the satisfaction of this government its ability tfi han dle the bandits and outlaws who in fest the north. The response of Gen. Obregon and Gen, Carranza to this has been a de mand that the troops be withdrawn at once, coupled .with a threat to drive them out if they do not go voluntarily. In such a situation as this It Is re garded as impossible for the presl-' dent te yield a single inch, yet there is an uneasy feeling In military cir cles that Washington may make an other In' at diplomacy. Among those who know Mexicans it is believed that such ajjpurse will merely make the de facto government more arro gant and more Intolerable in its de mands than ever. Gen. Obregon sought the confer ence, the third of an official nature which has been held since he came to the border to meet American mili tary representatives. The first official conference was held in the custom houde at Juarez and followed an exchange of courtesy calls. There Gen. Obregon delivered what amounted to an ultimatum on the subject of the withdrawal of troops. Next time came the unofficial con ference in this city, at which Gen. Scott and Arthur J. McQuatters, after twelve hoqrs of labor, obtained the signature of Gen. Obregon to a set of agreements under which, I am In formed, ..tbo, Mexican mobilization along Gen. Pershing's flanks was to be broken up and the' American troops were-to be withdrawn grad ually from the country as the gov ernment troopk showed thels ahtttty’ to handle the situation. Gen. Obre gon agreed to ratify this compact If he could get the approval of Gen. Carranza. TT»e second official conference took place at the Immigration station on the Internatio^U bridge Hun day morning. Just before it met the news had been received of the raid by Mexican bandits on Glenn Springs and Boqulllarf. In the Big Beqd re gion of Texas. Gen. Scott and Gen. Funston naturally were In no very amiable mood, when they met Gen. Obre gon. and when the latter and Kenor Amador began to offer a masa of counter propoaals which they said they had received from the first chief, they were Inter rupted and told abruptly that tlie United Mates was ready to ratify the tealaUve agreement made at the unofficial conference, but would not dlscnss taking from or adding to that agreement one line. • Gen Obregon went back to Juarez with thla atatement from Gen. Scott ringing In hla ears: ••There Is no need of another conference until such time as you are ready to tell as on behalf of your government that yon accept or reject the agreement yon signed Tunwlay. We shall wait In El Paso until we hear from you At ten o’clock Monday morning Gen. Obregon sent an aid to Gen Scott to roquest a confemice at five TRUST IS IN ARTILLERY SAYS NOTED HERMAN EXPERT MUltMT Critic 8*r, 900,000 French Are Not Hollling Beck HeU ae Many Teutons. The German attack on Verdun Is based on the crushing effect of Ger man heavy artillery, writes Major Mohraht, military critic of the Ber lin Tageblitt. “The capture of the smaller fort resses in the west at the beginning of the war by the use of heavy artillery was only a prelude to the artillery operations now in progress; “The French have not been able to compete with German artillery and ammunition. The enormous losses of the French are due partly to the ef fect of the German artillery and partly to the tenacity of tho French, who will not abandon their trenches. "Although It Is generally consider ed that attacking forces must bo four times superior to those of the defence, In the Verdun campaign the number of German troops engaged is much less than half that of the •French. The number of French troops may be calculated at not less than eight hundred thousand. This figure represents half of the entire forces which France still has at her disposal for active fighting. “All the German successes on the eastern and western fronts were gained with "numerically ‘inferior forces. Moreover, the Austro-Hun garian troops for a year have been holding back twice their number of the enemy. The principal elements In victory—quality of troops and courage—are steadily working to our advantage.” •" »F ' * i r/-7* not willing to ratify and that he re plied: "Because I am a fool and the first chief is a wise man. Because I was foolish enough to sign such an agreement 1 am now glad that my government is wise enough to rectify my error." I learned also that Gen. Scott told .Gen. Obregon frankly that he knew that Gen. Trevino was bringing large ■forces from Torreson to Chihuahua and asked him tf he expected Brlg- Oen. Pershing to retreat before a show of farce such as that. Gen. Obregon replied that if the American troops started to withdraw the MexF can troops would follow them closely until they were across the Interna tional boundary. Toward the end of the talk Gen. Hrott asked Gen. Obregon If his de mand that the Americans get out of Mexico at once wm a final one. The Mexican war minister replied that his Instructions front the first chief left no middle course. * The punitiv* expedltloq. Gen. Obregon said, must get out at once without conditions of any kind or the Mexican government would take steps to compel Its evacuation. 1716 discussion ended right there. Oen. Scott suggested that the Mexi can govgMuaeot s position be put tn writing, and Gen. Obregon agreed to do that without delay. There was no handshaking at parting but very for ma) bows. ■* It can be stated without exaggera tion that Gen. Scott and Gen. Fun- aton were angry clear through. They felt that they had been duped for six days by Gen. Obregon. during which time he had never ceased making military preparations for whatever might arise. And all of this time he was making great pretense of his own support of the tentative agree ment and the efforts he was making to bring his government over to his .... ^wsy of thinking, but Monday he tore o'clock in the afternoon. The en- off the mask and the real situation tude he took the night of May when in the custom house at Juarez surrounded by his generals, he as serted that he had come to the bor dec to talk about'the wrtMTtfWfiT ort McQuatters and Mr. BefharT'OdTsan. gagement w;is made and promptly on time Gen. Obregon and Scnor Ama dor arrived at Gen Scott's car. Gen. Scott and Gen. Funston were await ing them, and with them were Mr. the American punitive expedition from his country and not to discuss compromise proposals. There is every indication that Jua rez Is to be Immediately abandoned. Five trains are In the yards of the Mexican Central, loaded with mili tary supplies, and are expected to pull out at any moment. Gen. Obregon is heading straight for Chihuahua City. Gen. Jacinto Trevino, who came north with. Obre gon and left several nights ago, went straight to Torreon, where he mobilized his army, said to number fifteen thousand men, and began to move them toward Chihuahua City. The advance guard is reported to have reached that city. All of the Sonora troops of Gen. P. Elias Calles are now strung along the Sonora- Clilhuahua border. They are said to number approximately seventeen thousand men, and there are unof ficial reports of other troops- being moved north from CentraF Mexico. -The Mexicans have moved silent ly and with characteristic sublety, and now apparently believe -they are in a position to strike success fully. But although they greatly outnumber the American forces in Mexico under Gen. Pershing there is no great concern in military circles for the punitive expedition. Gen. Pershing has his rirmy drawn pretty close together. He has an abundance of ammunition and sup plies, and his men can and will fight. There are three thousand troops in the city just aching for a "scrap,'" but it appears to bo no pa-rt of the Mexican scheme to have any border action iU this time. I learn that in anticipatfon of just what occurred the war department has made a pro gram which can be Carried into ef fect inside of two hours. Twenty-three thousand men- of the Uoast Artillery and tlife Marine Corps on the Atlantic coast and ■eigTiJ^ < *:« thousand, in the same service along the Pacific coast hav® been ready.to start for some time for any given point on abort notie®. A‘ Ivge part of (hi« force will hr ordered «o bofder points at one®, p the situation gets down to actua wif, as It looks very much it' would Within fix'® days, it is estimated, th* - United States can have more thar AO.OOO men of the regular army ready for action. Grim sad (Beat sre Gen Scot: sad Gen Funston. Th»y srijl dis ease the rituaUon -with nobody. But who has been acting as interpreter at the conferences. The entire car was given over to the conferees. Lieut. Col. Michle. Gen. Scott's aid, and Capt. Fitzhugh Lee, aia to Gen. Funston, sitting on the railroad tracks, while soldiers surrounded the car to prevent- any intrusion. Walking from his automobile to the car it was plain to be seen, that Gen. Obregon was deeply concerned. His good natured smile was missing and there was a determined look on his face. Once In the car Gen. Obre gon made no bones about the posi tion Ms government had taken. I am informed that he said he had received definite instructions Yrom Gen. Carranza not to ratify any agreement that provided for the In definite retention of American troops In Mexico. He no sooner got these words out of his mouth than Gen. Scott Interrupted him to say that this was a phase of the situation that he could not discuss. , What he wanted to know, I am in formed Gen. Scott said with much bluntness, was whether Gen. Car ranza was or was not prepared to ratify the tentative agreement made last Tuesday. Gen. Obregon imme diately replied that thq agreement could not be ratified and Senor Ama dor nodded In confirmation. , The conference became dead locked right there, but I am in formed there was some ratrer bit ter language from the American generals. It is declared that words were not minced concerning the methods that had been employed 1 y the Mexican war minister. At the close of the conference Gen.'Scott and Gen. Fun ston, for the first time since they lihve been there, refused to- see cor respondents. They sent word out by Col. Michle that they had nothing to say.' Gen. Obregon went Straight back to’ Juarez and there the truth of what had happened became known In a short time. Gathering hla military aids hbout him. Gen. Obregon gave them a detailed neermnt of srll that had happened and .warned them. I am told, that war was impending be tween the United States and Mexico ynd might be expected at soy mo ment Gee. Obregon told his military as sociates that Gen. Scott asked him why h* Lad signed aa agreement which he sad his goverfimeat ware ia revealed. TORPEDOED WITHOUT WARNING Story of Cymric's Destruction Told by Survivors Wednesday. Details of the sinking of the White Star HnedCymrlc were given Wed nesday af llantry, Ireland, by mem bers of the crew who were landed. They say that the torpedo which de- sRyoyed the ship struck the engine room. The explosion blew all the skylights off and extinguished the lights throughout the vessel. Four men were killed by the explosion. The chief steward was drowned. One hundred and seven members of the crew took to the boats shortly after the liner was torpedoed, byt re turned when it was §een that the steamer was not in immediate dan ger of sinking. They remained until a sloop which had heard the Cymric’s wireless calls for help one hundred miles away arrived and took them off. The sloop stood by the Cymric until she sank. All of" the crew,Fere British sub jects except one Russiap and two Belgians. There were also six pas sengers on board, members of the British consular service, all of whom were saved. The officers say that the Cymric was unafmed. MAY RELIEVE POLAND England Gives Permission But At- taches Several Stipulation^. The British government has an nounced its acceptance .of the plan submitted by Walter Hines Barre, tho American ambassador, last February for feeding the civilian population of Boland by an American commission. The acceptance, carries, however, certain rather difficult stipulations for the central powers, namely, that the relief must be applied to that portion of Boland In Austrian occu pation and not confined, as Germany desires, to that part t occupied by Ger many. It 1* itlphlfited that the food is to be. shipped from the United States in German ships under a neu tral flag and that Germany and Aus tria agree as part of the scheme to esre pwtperry far the pomriatfons dr Serbia, Albania and Montenegro. • Turks Claim Victory. Constantinople teports that In the Caucasus region around Mount Kops the Turks In an attack drove out the RnssUns from positions about nine and one-half mfW- In extent and forced them Do retreat eastward.