The Barnwell people. (Barnwell, S.C.) 1884-1925, February 08, 1917, Image 2
I
STOP ALL HHMERCE
SUBMARINES LAUNCH BLOCK
ADE OF ENTENTE ALLIES
■■ ■» ■ ■
TRY TO STARVE IIITA1N
DocIatm Unrestricted War
Upon Hkipe of All Nations if They
Try to Go to Great Britain—Crisis
ef the War is Up to Wileop.
(Aermany has declared anre-
trleted sutmiarlne warfare. A
tarratlon blockade of' England,
' he like of which the world never
hae ween, was announced VVcninoH-
day in notes delivered to Ameri
can Ambassador t.erard In lit^rlin
and to the Mato department In
Washington by "Count von Uem-
•torff.
\
Thus begins the long feared cam-
palg.i conceived by von Hindenburg,
it Is said, on a magnitwdo never even
contemplated by von Tirpltz
Again the United Htates faces sev
erance of diplomatic relations with
Germany with allJts eventual possi
bilities. 'President Wilson's repeat
' ed warnings of “a world afire" and
Secretary Lansing's “verge of war"
statements are being recalled in thd
capital with feeling of apprehension
and misgiving.
Cormany’s action •'brings the.
supreme crisis of all those that
haw stirivd the American govern
ment in two and a half years of
wor ld war.
Talk of peace and means of
preserving peace has gone glim
mering.
President Wilson, incredulous at
first when the official texf* gf Ger
many’s warning was taken to him,
at once called for the official docu
ment, whicli had just been presented
to Secretary Lansing by the Ger
man ambassador. Mr. Lansing re
fused to make a comment. Presi
dent Wilson began at once a eareftti
study of the documphL „ , -—
The president nail ‘the task of de
ciding what shall be the course of.
the United States. Three immediate
steps appear among the possibilities.
The United States might solemn
ly warn Germany against violation
of her pledge; it might be decided
that the German warning is suffi
cient notice of an intention to dis
regard those pledges and a sufficient'
warrant for breaking off diplomatic
relations; it might be decided to
await the results of the blockade and
determine the course of the United. supposed, removed from power be-
«»nce, shall for the sake of neutral in
terest restrict the use of an effective
weapon if hbr enemy permitted to
continue to apply- at .will methods of
warfare violating the rules of inter
national law. Should the stbps taken
by the United States not attain the
object to have the laws of humanity
followed .by all belligerent nations
thV. German government would then
be facing a new situation in which it
muatrcHcrve to Itself complete lib
erty of decision.’''
To any such reservations the Unit
ed States demurred in no uncertain
terms.
“The United St*t«« feel* It neces-
•ary to elate, M said President Wil
son’s reply, "that it takes it for
granted that the impert^l . German
government does not intend to Im
ply that the maintenance of He new
ly announced polkjr i» In any'", way
contingent on the course or resul
diplomatic negotiations between th
government of the United States and
any belligerent government, not
withstanding the fact that certain
passages in the imperial govern
ment’a note might apepar to be sus
ceptible of that construction.
In completing the declaration that
there must be no misundorstandin
that rights of American citizens
must not be made subject to the-con
duct,,of some other government, the
note concluded by saying;
"Responsibility in sucji matters is
single, not joint; absolute, not rela
tive."
The development came—as—a-
Mag^ci ing sin prise.. For weeks
inspired authoritative and almost
Meml-offieinl statements have been
coniihg from Horlin indicating an
absolute decision not to leMime
unresti icted submarine warfare.
The complete agreemenjt of tin
emperor, Chancellor ilethuiann-Hoil
vvotc. Gen. vo^ Hindenburg and Gen
voh Ludendorff, the four men Fr
whose hands Germany’s destiny lies,
has been mentioned frequently 'ii
dlsratehea erasing censor.
Information received only Wed
nesday, however, shows that a very
careful campaign for the full use of
sea forces has been under way re
cently. It has been urged as essen
tial to Germany’s existence and it
was represented that it would be im
possible now for President Wilson to
get the American people behind him
in a declaration of war. Congress
Was represented as opposed> to war.
—Germany, according to informa
tion received, realizes that the action
may result in a. break of relations,
but Berlin officials are prepared for
the rupture. Wednesday night they
were represented as feeling that the
only other steps open to the United
States are the calling of a confer
ence of neutral nations to end the
blockade or the taking of some step
which speedily would result in peace.
InfornUHon received from, the
same source Is that Admiral von Tir-
pitz was not, as has heretofore been
Htates as the actual operations de
velsp.
l>n almost every side Germany's
drastic action is interpreted as an
open confession of the effectiveness
•of the British food bhickade. It is
regarded as a determination to strike
ba k in kind. German officials In
4b« United States estimate the food
vupply of the British Isles will last
g month.
Admittedly the plan is to carry
starvation to the doors of England
*tth swift, staggering strikes as a
fulfillment of Germany’s announced
determination to use every weapon
and agency at her command to end
the war quickly. She counts on the
operations of an unheard of number
of submarines to deliver blows to
bring England to her knees within
60 days. One German official pre
dicted the war would be over in a
month.. v. -
....Conveyed to the world as her an
swer to the refusal of the Entente
Allies to talk peace, Germany's latest
warning says: - .
"From February 1, 1917, within
barred zones around Great Britain,
France, Italy and In the eastern Med
iterranean. all sea traffic forthwith
will be opposed."
It virtually is a renewal and an
extension of the celebrated subma
rine blockade of the British Isles
proclaimed on February 4, 1915, and
which became effective February 18,
1915. Under it ships were sunk with
out warning until Germany aban-
doned the practice and gave her as
surances, in the Sussex case, to abide
by international law. The Lusitania,
Falaba and scores of other ships
were sunk under the decree.
American citizens and American
ehlpn are warned from entering the
war zones, although certain precau
tionary measures are suggested for
distinguished American steamers not
carrying contraband, according to
the German list. These conditions
In almost the same form were re
jected when proposed by Germany
early in the’ negotiations over the
Lusitania.
At that time Germany proposed to
guarantee Immunity from attack to
certain specified passenger ships
Bailing on prescribed courses with
distinguishing marks and carrying
no contraband. President Wilson
rejected the proposal promptly,, on
the ground that the United States
was only contending for its fights.
The new German proclamation
brushes aside the perplexing collat
eral issues which have surrounded
the submarine controversy and has
brought it back to the point where it
was left at the conclusiort of the Sus
sex case. *
The announcement, reciting the
refusal of Germany’s enemies to
discuss her peace proposals and re
ferring to the starvation blockade,
says:
"Thus a new situation has sprung
ip which forces Germany also to new
decisions."
The new decision is exactly the
one forecast when the Sussex nego
tiations were Tloscd. ' .
In conveying her pledges to fieep
submarine activities within interna
tional law, Germany included a
threat of resumption if the United
States did not succeed In lifting
British restrictions on commerce to
• Germany and the European neutrals
and the United States In reply ex
pressly warned -Germany that her
2 Wedge* most be absolutely uncondi-
tionat^f-^ .
’ said Germany In the
aote, "cannot expect that Ger-
foroed to fight for her exist-
cause he advocated ruthless subma
rine warfare but because he did not
effectively carry out the campaign
he inaugurated.
From German quarters came the
Information that Germany now has
from 300 to 500 submarines ready
for the campaign. The German views
is that the new policy will improve
general prospects of an early peace.
(Germany Is represented as still be
ing ready to discuss peace at any
time. However, It is declared that
German officials both In this country
and In Berlin feel that the declara
tion of changed policy should make
it clear that Germany and her allies
are in the war to the last drop of
blood.
Unrestricted submarine warfare, it
was declared, was determined utfon
as soon as the nature of the Entente
reply to President Wilson’s note be
came known and before the presi
dent’s address to the Senate.
The president’s address, 'It was
said, authoritatively, came in the
midst of the situation and because
of Its nature it appeared for a time
as- If the new campaign might be
postponed. However, It was explain
ed', much' preparation was necessary
for the opening of such a campaign
and nothing was to be gained by
waiting.
It Is believed that the policy was
decided upon at a req&nt conference
at the headquarters of the German
general rtaff and that Field Marshal
von Hindenburg played a most im
portant part in its formation.
It Is expected that Austria-Hun
gary will take action similar to that
of Germany with regard to the oper
ations of its submarines in the Medi
terranean.
Every public Intimation from Ger
many In the last few months has
been that an unrestricted submarine
warfare, almost certain to bring in
the United States, would he adopted
only as a last net of desperation. Ger
man papers have said Germany would
not dare oppose neutral opinion un
less she were willing to have the
rest of the neutral world added to
her enemies.
Two opposing views of American
hostility have been allowed to pass
the German censors.' The first was
that the harm the United States
could do Germany as an active ene
my was no greater than as a neutral
supplying munitions and loans to the
enemies and that the crippling of
Allied shipping would be the turning
point of the war.
This apparently la the view now
adopted. The other view, known to
have been held by some high offi
cials here, was that Germany might
In desperation seek to involve the
United States as an actual enemy on
the ground that her influence at the
peace conference would be a gener
ous one.
Officials, stunned .at the sudden
ness of the German action, do not
hesitate to conceal their disquietude
over the mental unpreparedness of
the American public for what may he
coming. The recent flood of peace
discussions started by the German
offer, increased, by the president’s
note and again by the Entente reply,
are thought to have turned public
opinion in this country away from
the possibility of war and to have
focused attention on the terms of a
near peace..
' A revulsion Is expected to take
place In the Entente countries,
" with the result that the world war
will enter* period of
for
WHY THEY DON’T WIN
✓
• * ♦
ALLIES LACK GREAT MILITARY
LEADER TO END WAR
GERMAN FORGES MOBILE
Facility With Which Teutons Shift
Their Armies is I jar gel y Responsi
ble for Failure of the Allies to
. . -. v . ■
. Reap ♦^Victorious Reward—Ger*
man* Can Be Beaten But Allied
Tactics Must lie Changed.
Major Edwin W. Dayton reviews
the war Tor the International News
Services. He discussos * below the
question why the Allies are not win
ning the war wKh their advantage
in men, artillery andsinoney:
JCxtxeme cold throughout Europe
has helped to bring abouKa pause in
the fighting on most frontsNjn some
few places in France and in nb^thern
Russia the freezing of mai
has induced local enterprises, but
• fruuh >|<V 11111 uace -impo»
ant undertakings. ^ „
Shall \ye take advantage ;£f thir
>nuse to turn from the study of cer
ain campaigns to a general survey
>i the whole deadly business? Shall
/e try to judge whether either sldt
•hows any sign of a plan so promis’
ng as to suggest a - victory big
nough to compel the other side tc
Limit? '
The Allies have said they will no
nuke peace until they have crushe
lernian military power. But let u.
onsider how* tlTey are 10 go'* abou,
hat big'job. ~ln England, where tht
ize of. the undertaking now is real
zed, the public has been v^ery latelj
old that there cun be no victor)
•vithout more soldiers, -more ‘ muni
ons and more economic efforts. Tht
present force of five million British 1
soldiers added to the French, Rus-1
sian, Italian, Roumanian ♦nd Ser
bian armies,*will still fall short. I
We are ceytaln that so far as man
power is concerned, the Allies are 1
nowhere near the end of their re
sources. England and her colonies
can certainly muster, another million
or million and a half. Russia can re
pair losses with several million re
cruits, Italy could add half a million
more. Serbia and Roumania are al
most obliterated. France has still a
great veteran army animated Ijy the
highest morale and possessing the
best technicarefflciency..
It is doubtful whether France pos
sesses enough reserve strength to re
pair losses. There can he no doubt
that when the spring campaign opens
for every three Germans on the firing
line there will be at least five Allied
soldiers facing them. This estimate
errs on the side of being too con- 1
Ikervative. The disparity of numbers
may easily be greater.
, At sea the British and French are
in practically undisputed control so
far as naval operations are concern
ed. Since the abpye factors are es
tablished and undeniable, what is
there to prevent a speedy triumph for
the Allies?
First and foremost they lack, so
far, any real military genius to lead
tlieniv From the first days of the war
down to the present the Allies havp
nowhere developed a great general.
Kitchener, in England, and Jofl're,
Franco, were splendid organizers;
usiloff in Galicia-aml the Grand
Nicholas,, first in the Carpa-
thiahh<and later in Armenia, were
SINK ARMED SHIPS
* ♦
RELENTLESS WARFARE BEGINS
WITH ARMING OF SHIPS
ENGtAND FORCES FIGHT
land and. the announcement of
ruGiietitmefc* by sea, officials look
forward to at least a spring and
summer of unprecedented 1 - slaugh
ter.
Ixmdon Cables That Both Nations
are Going to Try Stiwngalation
and Admits That Roth Will Come
Up Against America—Germany
-U
Might Win if She Disregarded
■ U
Law** , . _
The German note sweeps away all
the issues that have previously loom-,
ed so large, such as what armament
a merchant ship can carry, where it
must be located, how it may be used,
whether the' ship is chartered, re
quisitioned or still private, and re
places them with one clear issue
which can not be broken or Ignored.
In this situation President Wilson’s
previous policies are the intimation
of the future. When the channel
iner Sussex was torpedoed the presi
dent, threatening a severance of re-
ations, wroter i.
"If it is still the purpose of the
mperial government to prosecute re-
entless and indiscriminate warfare
against vessels of commerce by the
use of submarines without regard to
what the government of the United
Rates must consider the sacred and
ndisputable rules of international
aw and. the universally recognized
dictates of humanity, the govern
ment of the United States is at last
breed to the conclusion that there is
but one course it can pursue.
"Unless the imperial German gov"
ernment show now immediately de
clare and effect an abandonment of
ts present methods of submarine
IMirfare against passengers and
relght carrying vessels, the govern
ment of the United States can have
no choice hut to sever diplomatic re
asons with the German empire alto
gether. This action the government
of the United States contemplates
with the greatest reluctance hut feels
constrained to take in behalf of hu
manlty and the rights of neutral na
tions."
To this note the German govern
ment acceded in its reply of May 4,
1916, in what has become known as
the Sussex pledge, as follows: -.
"The German government, guided
by this idea, notifies the government
of the United States that the Ger
man naval forces havs received the
followihg orders:
" ‘In accordance with the general
principles of visit and search and de
struction of merchant vessels recog
nized by international law, such ves
sels, both within and without the
zone declared as a naval war zone,
shall not be sunk without warning
and without saving human lives, un
less these ships attempt to escape or
offer resistance.’ ’’
This was followed by the qualifi
cation Uie United States declined to
recognlro. The pledge has been bind
ing on Germany up,to ‘Wednesday
when her new orders were issued de
nying the right of visit and search
to vessels within a wide area. •
^ This follows closely an extension
of the field of British naval opera
tions announced from the American
emhaasy in Ijondon on Saturday In
whicli an area running out from Jot-
land and enclosing part of the North
sea was declared dangerous because
of belligerent operations.
Preparations for a wide sea war
have been for some time indicated in
many, scattered * dispatches but no
such' extreme warfare was expected
by officials here. Reports have fre
quently come from South American
ports of German ships preparing for
a dash to sea. Likewise German
naval reports have intimated proba
bility of another big naval battle like
the Jutland battle last spring, while
a recent conference of Allied naval
authorities forecast much closer En-
tent co-operation on tho seas.
. When Associated* Press dispatches
telling of the German note began
arriving at the White House, Presi
dent Wilson was in hisjpffice talking
with a friend. Secretary Tumulty
hurried to hinv^ith the news.
The president could not believe it
until assured that the information
was contained in a formal note al
ready before th© state department.
Cabinet members likewise receiv
ed the news with expressions of
amazement
rial circles the first opinion formed
without detailed consideration was
that diplomatic relations with Ger
many would be brok
of the deer*
clever chiefs in local enterprises;'
Caorna, (iNltaly, was a capable com
mander air ngthe Isonzo; Birwood,
tl ( ie AustralianXshowed fine minor
qualities on G iTHnoli. In France
there Lave boen.haTf a dozen splen
did local heroes at . verdun and on
the Somme to replace some who fell
in stopping the early rusnejS of the
invaders..
But where and who is he whtHCan
emerge from the disappointing
suits of the past two years’ great ef^
forts? On the Somme all the Brit
ish authorities claim that through
out last year Haig’s army OUtCllSSINf
the Germans in the air, in artillery,
in numbers. They even asserted lhat
the Germans, ready to run from Brit
ish bayonets, were outclassed in
courage. Of cpursq. such idle .boast
ing reflected littlei credit "OB the
brave British regiments which wpr6
compelled to fight to their utmost
and suffer extreme losses in order to.
win every Blight advance.
The Allies have not yet found a
leader who can pick out the weak
spot in the German armor and drive
a fatal thrust through that spot. The
best Allied efforts have been used
up in stopping German assaults, but
the war will go on a long time if the
decision is to be won by the process
of holding up targets for the enemy
to hit \^ntil he falls exhausted from
his own efforts.
The German has generally come
back promptly with an overwhelm
ing attack just when the experts
have unanimously decided that deci
mation was just cro* ding him over
the brink of elimination. The great
difficulty for the Allies is, in the
first place, that the Germans still
have the best organiz'd military
power in the world, even after the
Allies have had tw.o to three years
in which to Imitate their marvelous
efficiency.
In the second place, the Teutons
with their allies and conquered ter-
rnnz < jftnrrritrf(T''?Qtn~
tral area from north to south
through Europe and across the Dar
danelles into Asia Minor. It is true
that they are cut off by sea block
ades from a great part of supplies
which they need.
Bat it is also true that the
Allies have allowed them either
to hold or to seize great areas
capable of producing much of •
their most pressing necessities.
Coal, iron, oil, grain can ail be
found in the regions which the
Teutons have occupied.
Their numerical inferiority • is
largely offset by the facility with
which they: move armies up and
down their frontiers. No German
army of three-quarters of a million
men lies idle and wasted like Sar-
rail’s army in, Macedonia. No far
outflung corps is committed to a
profitless camp.aign like that^which
continues on the Tigris without any
prospect of a really worth-while re
sult.
The strength of the Germans is
kept in hand and is ever ready to
meet whatever attack the Allies de
vise. The Germans can be beaten,
but not by any of the methods thus
far developed by any leader on the
Allied side. Not at any rate, within
the limits of time which, ought to be
sufficient to end the war. - . *
The danger for the Allies and
doubtless the hope for the German is
that the prolongation of the costly
struggle may we&ry some one of the
partners into a willingness to say:
"H we can’t win, let’s stop."
MANNING PLEDGES STATE
Snjrs Smith Carolina Will Respond
Promptly and Vigorously.
Gov. Manning Wednesday night
received the following telegram from
the New York Times:
"Germany has presented a mote
to-night withdrawing her submarine
pledges and indicating her intentions
of sinking without warning by mine
or torpedo any vetfgel, including
American, carrying goods or passen
gers into a zone extending about
twenty miles around the coasts of
France and the British Isles aft£r
February 1/ Please telegraph us a
brief expression of your views on this
situation." ;V
* The governor replied as follows:
"Germany’s note presents a situa
tion of extreme gravity and may pre
cipitate complications resulting in
war. President Wilson £an be re
lied on to use every possible precau
tion to protect American lives, con
sistent with the honor and dignity of
On every hand in offl- tht nation. In any eventuality Smith
Relentless warfare on the high
seas between armed merchant ves
sels “and submarines may force the
armed ship question to a critical is
sue, before diplomatic negotiations
now under way can fix the attitude
of the United States in the controv
ersy. From Teutonic sources it bus
Ihoii learned that Germany has dc-
temifned upon a widespread, aggres
sive submarine campaign, if Britain
merchant vessels* plough the seas
armed with heavy guns fore and aft.
It w ; ?s stated that orders to sub
marines to sink such merchant ships
on sight have been prepared by the
German admiralty and that they may
be issued at any time. With hun
dreds of American 'citizens passen
gers on merchant ships now at sea
and about to sail, administration offi
cials were plainly concerned dyer the
grave possibilities of-the situation.
It developed thoLGermany has in
formal!) laid’ before" the United
States a request for a ruling oil the
armed merchantman question that
ha*, been in dispute for months wilh-
■ f definite settlement.
lims that Great Bri
ned to inaugurate a
es by means of mer-
d claims the right to
if heavily firmed, as
sink them without
warning;—»— N -— *
£ American * diplomats abrOfid have
been asked informally to submit re
ports on the situation, with a view to
facilitating action by tne^ depart
ment.*
It was learned, however,'thaUT^res-
idenb Wilson and Secretary of S
Lansing have not yet determined t
fix the- attitude of this country for
mally, and that such action may be
delayed until the United States is
confronted with an instance of an
armed ship sunk by a submarine.
Meantime, the United States stands
on its ruliug that armament of itself
does not prove a vessel a warship and
that only "aggressive action’’ by a
merchant vessel justifies a subma
rine in sinking it without warning.
Meantime, German diplomats were
emphatic in their declaration that
merchantmen armed fore and aft Crowd Stay in Cold to
will be treated as auxiliary cruisers
and sunk on sight. It wa* clear that
Germany lias determined upon a sub
marine "blockade” plan to iwevent
food ships and vessels carrying other
supplies from reaching the Entente
{towers, and that this plan will he
followed despite diplomatic develop
ment.
- At the" Entente embaooica it wee- . , . . . ™
stated that no advices weie ^assador Gerard had been recalled
coming from abroad as to any change j rom }^ r q ]n
It was the coldest day in many
winters in Paris, yet crowds stood
around the bulletin boards, with the
thermometer registering five degrees
above zero, eagerly reeding the
scraps of news as they • filtered
through.
The people, stamping their feet la
the cold, talked of the war being
shortened by many months, of the
possibility that midsummer might
ship-owners to mount on their res- > **&*•.:“* «■**
sels guns, making the ships capable ,,lctor7 - Pre8ld * nt W11 * on ® VOTtnW
of offensive action. |
They declare that the authoriza-j
tion followed an agreement between
the admiralty and the ship-owners'
that the latter should undertake an»
aggressive anti-submarine campaign. I
It was a reaponsd, they declare, to
the general public demand in Great i
Britain 1 for vigorous action against
the submarines. Germany asks that: lead’ne Frenchmen but there
this country adopt the view that, f s no ^ j8D ? o 8 iUon Jo comraent formal
ships thus armed are riot entitled to! ® COm e t forinal -
the protection extended to ••peace- The Anlerlcan emba88V cea8ed t0
ab ^® er , c 1 , ant f le . s . b .'look after German interests at five
The state department has asked; . . k SatllrdaT afternoon under in-
that ••proof" of these contentions be „ lrnrt ,^ * r ,? m y WaR hin.tnn Amh™.
and Germany that will test the com
parative resources of the two coun
tries on, and particularly under, the
sea.
Visibility of preparations is not
needed to give warning of the con
flict that may prove the last phase
of this war. The deadliest sea at
tack ever offered by one great coun
try and the most resolute defense
ever made by another seem staged
for a future so near that it may be
only to-morrow.
. . ... 7 ;V.\ . V •« . ■ A • l
Two western nations are resort-
lug desperately to the oriental'
method of strangulation—Britain .
by blockade, and Germany by sub-.. .
marine. While the Asquith gov
ernment waited Germany got
ready her undersea fleet, whose
numbers are estimated by some as
high as eight hundred, most of
them submarine cruisers built to
operate far from their base.
Opposed to this attack is the tra- ; ’ ? r
ditional blue water policy of Britain,
which has produced the greatest fleet
ever assembled under- one flag,
manned by a personnel in which
every sailor and officer is true to v -
t^pe, and commanded b 1 ^ a combina
tion of brains, skill, and dash.. Car-
son, Jellicoe land Beatty, with such
resources,.ouglit to prove themselves
unbeatable,. . :*■—
The unknown quantity's whether
the enemy has stolen a march on the
old government, which delayed while
every shipyard in Germany worked,
ceaselessly." At the ^present fate the
U-boats are w earing 4 down merchant
tonnage faster than it is being re- .
placed. _ f ^ l
The new Department of Shipping,
under Sir Joseph Maclay, is applying
itself strenuously to organizing, ship
building. AH’ facilities are to be
used for building small cargo boats
in large numbers and turning them
out quickly. Farts are to be stand
ardized, and widely scattered faclli-
ties assembled at convenient centres, \
thus ter-ring another leaf Jrora Ger^ — *
many's book.
The government is not taking the
public into Its confidence regarding.'
the arming of merchantmen, which
might prove a vital element in the
submarine defense program., Here
England comes up against America,
as Germany does in respect to sinfc-
hig slftit- ILJEugland .can a-rm
forward and abeam jus well ji» aft,
she can in time enable each mer
chantmen to meet the attacking sub
marine on equal fighting terms, thus
giving her a strength of four to one,
counting her merchant fleet at four
thousand and conceding the German
maximum of one thousand sub
marines.
xSimilarly if Germany could turu
loose her undersea fleet without
bothering about sea law as Inter
preted by the-United States, and
with the bare purpose of sinking
every ship hound for an English
port, she might reduce England by
starvation.
PARIS GLAD OF BREAK
America’s Action. _ >
%
Word began to go about Paris in
the early forenoon of Sunday that
the United States had broken with
Germany. Bulletins marked "Wash-,
ington officially", were posted at the
newspaper offices announcing that
the German ambassador had been
in the* status of merchant ships. It
was said, however, that such changes
would net be communicated to the
diplomats.
Germany, It was learned, has ini
tiated negotiations through Ameri-'
can Ambassador Gerard In Berlin
and through Ambassador von Bern-1
storff in an effort to fix the attitude'
of the United States. The German
diplomats contend (bat on December
12 the British admiralty authorized
and the Stars and Stripes were
flashed on many screens and Sunday
afternoon assemblies in the moving
picture houses all over Paris cheer
ed. . ' , v -
Soldiers at railway stations return
ing from leave were among the most
earnest readers of the afternoon
papers. Great satisfactien at tha
action of the United States is felt
submitted, and Germany has agreed
structions from Washington. Ambas-
, * i Au x .sador Sharp has telegraphed to the
to make an effort to supply the evt- congu j ut Bordeaux to advise Ameri-
aenoo. can9 on p 0 j nt 0 f departure to de-
For the time being, therefore, the {er saiIi 1 ' The neW8 ‘ wa8 received
negotiations are at a standstill and |j yfuJ1 b the Americana at the
SmI. ^ • headquarters of the field ambulanc.
beginning of conflict between mer “ I service '
chant ships and submarines on,the
high seas may be precipitated at any
hour. With the submarine develop
ed to a point where its cruising
radius has been tremendously in
creased, < submarine activity now H Plans for Ambassador'^ lleparture
practically unlimited. The firscin-
BERNSTORFF PACKING UP
stance bf sinking an armed merchant
ship may happen in the crowded
lanes of trans-Atlantic travel or at
the doors of American ports. It wa,s
Ktill Incomplete.
Although-*plans for his enforced
departure froln the United States
still^ were incomplete, Count von
admitted that such an incident, if; Bernstorff began Sunday the pre-
American citizens w T ere aboard the
sunken vessel, would precipitate an
other Lusitania crisis aUonce.
As an indication of an apparent
determination by Germany to begin
an aggressive submarine campaign
there came £in unofficial dispatch, to
the state department from Amster
dam stating that Germany had issued
a warning to all neutral nations,
warning.them to keep their citizens
and subjects off armed belligerent
vessels. • *-i *-
A dispatch from London uses
the significant senteneb: "Two
western nations are resorting des
perately to the oriental method of
strangulation—Britain by block
ade and Germany by .pubmarinc."
Confidence In the Uloyd-George
ministry was stimulated last -week by
the getting together of the Allied
paration of his baggage and th^t of
his staff for shipment back, to Ger
many. s
His last duty as the representa
tive of his government, the task of
windingfup the. embassy’s a'ffairs for
relinquishment to the keeping of
neutral diplomacy, will be performed
as soon as details -can be arranged
and then he will sail for home.
W’hen passports for the embassy
staff were handed to Count von
Bernstorff they were not accompani
ed by a guarantee of safe conduct-
through the Allied blockade, but the
state department is preparing to gerf
one. The request probably will blef
made within a, day. or two througn^M
the British embaSky, and officials do '
not doubt that it wijl be granted.
* ♦
Germany Releases Americans.
Germany has acceded to the Amer—
navies, which in the past had lacked
Carolina will respond prchnptlr and pco-ordtnationf and there are signs of M^n demands for the release of the
vigorously to any call upon her to! Intense, if utfadvertised. activity at ♦ 6e venty-two Americans taken from
maintain our honor and the right! of j the admiralty that fit into the gen-«ships sunk by the faider in the At-
if the terms American ritlaena wherever tbey ! erally accepted theory v>f an impend- lantic and brought to a German pert
Ing trial of strength between Britain aboard the steamer Tarrowdale.
. L.-. . _ v
Me a