Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, February 5, 1917, Page 1

Sends an Invitation to Them to Break With Germany and to Range the Moral Force of All Neutrals in the Interests of Peace £FFECT OF SUGGESTION IS EAGERLY AWAITED ThueWuNoOveflAdintbeShkingof!lnHofl.mic—- is Awaiting Developments, Butnbnvmgflodl-gum' done to Prepare the Country for the Eventuality of War}i®¢ Foreign Sympathizers Day and Night Are Going For- ward—Either the King of Spain or the Pope Will be the World Peace-Maker. Washington Feb. 4-—Besides break frg off diplomatic relations with Ger many, President Wilson has made ®bold stroke to range the moral force of all other neutral countries along with that of the United States in the interest of peace. Suggests That Ayll Neutrals Break. The president has suggested to all the other neutrals that they break off diplomatic relations with Germany as the United States has done and has in- structéd all American diplomats in those countries to report immediately how the suggestion is received. The opinfon In dij%omatic quarters here is that Buropean neutrals, at the very doorstep of Germany, threatened by her military power, will hesitate to take such a step. The effect of the suggestion in other countries is being eagerly awaited. This was the on'y known development of first import- ence which came out of a day of tens: waiting which followed the aetion an- nouncement vesterday of the break with Germany. News that the Amerfcan steamor Ifousatonic had not been sunk withoat proper warning and that no lives had Teen lost dispelled a elond w! catened the storm to follow the first act agai the United States under the new.war zone order. Hopefu! That Germany Will R len‘t. Still hopeful that Gérmany ruthlessly sacrifice American lives - ghts, the administration is awaiting developments but leaving nothing un- dcne to prepare the country for th eventually of war. The situation as to Austria is to- rizat unchanged. There is no douht, hiowever, ‘that diplomatic relations will be broken with her when she announc @s her intention to adhere to e many’s course. The ‘president’s invitation to foilow his action instructions to Ameri arnounce the break e the governments to which they a credited. Tt was contained in the fo! lowing note: Invitation to Neutrals. “You will immediately notify th government to which vou are accredit- e that the United States, because of the German government's recent an nouncement of its intention to rene: unrestricted ssbmarine warfare has 1o choice but to follow the course laii down in its note of April 18, 1916 (the Eussex note.) “It has, therefore, recalied the Amer- fcan ambassador to Berlin znd hes delivered passports to tile German am- bassador to the United States. “Say also that the president is re fuctant to_ bellove Germans. actush will carry out her threat against neu ral commerce, but if it be done the president will ask congress to author- ize use of the national power to pro- tect American citizens engaged in their peaceful and lawful. errands on the seas. “The course taken is, in the presi- dent’s view, entirely in conformity with the principles he enunciated i bis address to the senate January 12 (the address proposing a worid leagua for peace.) “He believes it will make tlie peace of the world if other neutral powers canfind ft. possible to take simflar action. eport fully and immediateiy on re- copf on the suggestion as to similar =iong” occa- Effarts For Peace. Thus It becomes apparent that In the shadow of war the president has ot sbandored Lis efforts for peaca and as the! first ster, has moved to direct the meral force of the meutral wor'd to -ompel Germany’s return to an ob- servance of international law at sea. The danger that broken diplomati> rulations between the United Statet and Germany will develop into a state of war is by no means minimized by President Wilson’s course and neitter he nor other officials of the government = abating their preparations for any t1entuality. Steps to Protect American Cities. Steps to protect American cities and property against attack by foreicn csympathizers are day and night go- ing;on forward, actively although si- Tently. Preparations to prevent the disabling of German war-bound ships in -Amer- ican ports are being taken but theéy are unannounced. The question of con- voying American ships on their voy- “ges to the submarine zone still is vn- dacided, although the first impressich is to let American ships proceed in a vsualy lawful way on the assumption that Germany has been warned that an overt act means war. Gerard Arranging For Return. r\'nu;ln: definite as to Ambassador Gérard’s dmrwn from Germany w'uz is presumed th: fi ummo%mhunu '-.‘ T of this announcement and up- |- his suite and all American consulai officers in Germany he Wwill go to som? adjoining neutral m probably Hyt lang or Switzerland, prepare to T to the Dnfles” tSares. Count Von Bernstorff, the-German ambassador here, continued his prepaz- ations for turning over the embassy to i\e Swiss minister, Dr. Ritter, and for leaving the country. ~ The state do- partment 1s endeavoring to sec.re from the entente allies a safe #assage f:r the ambassador and his suite. President Spent Day Quietly. President Wilson spent - the day quietly, attending church in the morn- ing conferring briefly with officials over the telephone and in the afternoon tolking over with Senator Simmons, chairman of the finance committ: the problem of raising necessary revenue should war come. There was no ui- usual signs of act war or. na\', depm‘&mmtm bln und.r- reath the surface. ’fl preparing the couns (.l‘y t’o¥=a situ nn which has been expscte T SaoE e Maus with O oo ma ecame acute. The present situation may eontinne several days before there are any 2v- idenccs whether Gerthany intends to Lalt her campaign of ruthlessness ba- fore President Wilson’s final demard for. respect to, American rights or whether she will follow out her plas and take the conseqaences No Overt Act Yet. Provisions made in the new subma- rine order for the safety of ships at sea at the time it-was promulgated meay postpone the mt act which wouid be an act of On the other v moment bv the ruthless act, or even mistake, o subimarine commander. ith relations severed and the coun- ng to meet Lhe next step 43 officials are reflecting now ituation as it affects the use of peace and the situation of tha belligerents themselve: King of Spain Peace Maker. It seems to be accented that the ac- tion of the United States will tend to hold the entente allies closer together than ever before and deter talk of sepavate peace. It seems.to be ar cepted too that the rupture defimitely removes 4he United States as world’s peace makes and from German point of view brings forward King Alfonso of Spain. Curiou: enough, the German ambassador, Cow Von Bernstorff, several months ago expressed the per!onnl opinion that not President Wilson, but the king of Spain would be the man to bring peace to the world. Peace Would Come From Vatican. Should it eventuate that all othé neutrals accepted the president’'s sug- gestion that they sever diplomatic re lations with Germany, the voice for peace would have to come from the Vatican. The entente embassies, confident that the United States cannot help being forced into the conflict, are discussicg among themselves what part the Unit - ed States ‘wouid take in the war. CONGRESS 1S CALMLY AWAITING DEVELOPMENTS Ready to Act Quickly to Meet any E ney. ‘Washington, = Feb. 4, — Congress aroused to patriotic sup) of the president, calmly awaits develop- ments in the diplomatic breach with Germany. Ready to act quickly and adequate- ly in any emergency, administration leaders are in constant touch with executive departments with legislative machinery prepared for expeditious disposition of extraordinary revenue an ddefense measures. Partisanship Cast Aside. While hopeful that the: brealk with the imperial German government wiil not_force the United States into war, leaders already have cast aside partis- anship legislative squabbles over min- or matters have . been tampered and the_legisiative branch is standing by respond . to any demand for pro- toction ot the mation 1n the interna- tional crisis. Important Measures Under Considera- tion. Important measures baring on the situation are: under- tion in both Houses among them the annual naval appropriation bill, c.mpl-crqn of 113 War Vessels mm‘tn‘:gt “be offered by Rep- vity about the state, One man was Onni-hlhu-orluuh-d-d. ’_'fl"m tiflj.n.—he?fl 2& Oflo“m b;:cermnmn:: vo\-.sl. _an_adaitional ms.m.m' ediate completion tonight -u ‘believed that the amendment would be adopted. Construction of 100 Submarines. In addition to the regular appropri- AM Dbill there is pending in the sen- ate with :nwdng of its passage, a ator Poindexter, pi apropriation bill. The crisis also finds the house mil- Sty eemmib:‘xlee ready with tie cur- rent army 3, subject, Und-' wlnl- law the president | Raiiroad Terminals and Aqueducts -Are - Being Guarded—Bi luejackets, Marines and . Soidiers on Duty— - Guard Not Being Mobilized. NNI"YOHL Feb. mmucl;zl—nu of ork naval pped as’ $3 today p-f::n and. ‘MH. an river ennnnt to :mh ‘within 50 feet of the bridge plers. New Yerk Bridges . [out, m)d'lnmhn e {departure w-nhhu from the navy (yard. 100 Militiamen for Each Ir.d... To each bridge ‘details of 100 miljtia three reliefs, piers o ath: ahdts ¢ the Tiver, Anchorages, footwayg and driveways extra -il- unu.mdon- tonight. ‘Captain F. B. Fry, chief of staff of the naval militia, announced tonight that the approaches to the bridges and the floors, “where militiamen have been on guard, will be turned lover to the police tomorrow morning. Naval Militia at Hell Gate. Hell Gate bridge and its connecting railways were boln‘ guarded tonight by naval from New Rochelle. i | This structure is consigered one of the until_the expiration Emergency military dmn bring action in the near future. To Safeguard Against Conspiracies. To™ safeguard interests of the na- tion against conspiracies, considera- tion is being rushed in the senate of measures suggeted by the attormey- general to _strengthen the statute: under: which prosecutions may be brought against offenders within' the United States who further the in- terests of foreign governments. The judiciary committee of the - senat urged to action by the administra- tion, will meet tomorrow to consider a favorable report from a sub-com- mittee on seventeen of these measures. Drive on General Legislation. ‘While awaiting developments, how- ever, both houses are expected to keep a drive on general legislation to go' about regular business as calmly is possible. Administration leaders hope to. pre- vent discussion of - international _is- sues. They are somewhat disturbed, bowever, lest tranquility may be dis- turbed by agitation from the pacifist element in. congress. ~ “Pacifist” Group Active. Efforts to arouse sentiment against American participation in the war are expected to come from the so-called “Bryan” or “pacifist” group and Mr. Bryan's presence in Washington and utterances on this subject yesterday and today, together with the arrival tonight of Henry Ford, have served to increase apprehension in this re- gard. Mr. Bryan, who has some fol- lowing in both branches of the con- gress, has been urging various altern- atives, including a referendum on the question of war with Germany. In view of this agitation administration leaders would not be surprised to have the issue raised by the introduc- tion of resolutions embodying the Eryan ideas., PARIS GETS WORD OF o BREAK WITH GERMANY President Wilson One of the Most Popular Figures in French ds. Paris, Feb. 4, p. m.—Word be- gan to go about Pl.rll early in the forenoon that the United States had broken with Bulletins marked *“Washington Special” were posted at the newspaper an- nouncing that the buu- dor, Count von Rernstorff, had been that Am- o hafl been recalled T was the cota was coldest day in many win- ters in Paris, yet crowds stood zmn the bulletin boards, early, rudifl the eering feats in the country. Governor Whitman's order for the - | g@eneral mobilization of the national ed £ ;'lntom-flece: Y -4 explain a statemen! e, |ORly emall nts of and naval forces the atal military ‘may | vere called out, the governor eaid. wiliie every armory in the state 'was patrolled by a corporal’s guard in fleld lllllfoflfl, ready to put into opera- tion the call for a full mobilization. The governor issued the statement ‘mander_Robert P. Forshew of the na- val militia and others. It was supple- mental to his announcement of Satur- day ‘night that all the state forces were €, |to be called into service at once. Gov. Whitman’s Statement. “T wish to impress upon the spublic and the newspapers,” said the gover- nor, “that such precautlons as we are taking are to protect public works, such as aqueducts, against the possible action of eome crank. “We have no suspicion that there is or will be any organized effort against any public utilities. I believe that all our citizens are with the president and that includes the so-called ‘German- Americans.’ “There are available in this state today about 19,000 men, exciusive ol those on the Mexican border. They are in_excellent condition and can be mohilized in a few hours. If neces- sary, they will be called out as needed. Governor Whitman, it - was an nounced, is keeping in close touch with the situation in every city in the state and has wiréd authorities that ald in any form available will be forthcoming when needed. He was informed tonight that raflroad detectives are guarding all the important railroad bridges in the state, especially those at Albany and Poughkeepsie. Bluejackets on Guard. Squads of sailors from the United States batileship New Jersey, armed with rifles, guarded the abproaches and trestles of the recently completed New Vorls connecting railways bridge, con- |necting the Bronx with Aetoria, Long Island. The public service commission has taken steps to guard all construction work under its control. To relieve the police - department so far as possible, the commission has assigned its own force: of nearly two thousand employes to this work. Guards at Railroad Terminals. Police guards have been placed at railroad terminals, cable, telegraph and telephone bulldings, the city hall and other public buildings and throughout the financial’ district. Twelve Yale students, members of Aerial Coast Patrol umif, No. 1, have informed Secretary of the Navy Dan- jels of their readiness to leave the uni- versity and place themseives under the orders of the navy department for ac- tive duty, it was announced today by the Aero club of America. F. Trubee Davison and H. P. Davison, Jr., sons of e Henry P. Davison, banker, and Robert many months, of the t mid-summer might see it over, of absolute and quick vic- tory. President Wilson’s . portrait and the Stars and Stripes-were flashed on many screens and -Sunday assemblies in the mouon picture ‘houses_all over Paris cheered. Groups cheered the newspaper kiosks on the boulevards, waiting for the earliest editions- and then stood around reading them. Strangers grew suddenly friendly and discussed the importance of the BpvE. President Wilson has suddenly be- come one of the most popular figures mwm t rdflll tatios a iway si ns, ing T leave, ::!:‘.:m‘ the mn-t earnest readers afternoon pa- pers. Great satisfaction at the action of the United States is felt among the leading Frenchmen, but there is no disposition to comment formally on events. A wave of Mrdlal -ood reelv ten of lninul, would ’inx u shown -m A. Lovett, son of Judge Lovett, chair- ‘man of the board of directors of the Union Pacific railway, are members of the unit. Naval Reserve Being Organized. The United States naval reserve forces, it was learned tonight, now are being organized under_direction of the navy department, under authority of congress favored last Ausust The re- serve forces are entirely separate from the naval militia. Coe, president general of tne. \mmm Society of Ne ew England Women, has called a. meetiig of the presidenits of the various chapters of the national society for tomorrow af- ternoon .in this eity. The presidents 'will receive instructions in first aid and nursing from physicians of the Red Cross. Instructions alse will be given to the presidents to caH meetings in their territories to enlist the aid of women for first aid.and nursing. To Ask for Safe C of Bernstorff. Washington, Feb. partment. is preparing to _ask 'British government for a safe conduct for: Ln-m von Berpstorff on his trip back t s 75 1Févo_rad' by Taft TO BUILD UP ARMY FOR COUN- TRY’S DEFENSE TO EQUALIZE BURDEN |-, Would Require at Least a Year's Ser- vice From Every Young Man Be- tween the Ages of 19 and 24 to Form Trained Force. New York, Feb. 4—Conscription to build up an army for the country’'s defense “now the war is on us” and for the future as well, was advocated here today by Former President Wil- Taft in an address on the League to Enforce Peace before the Brookiyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. “Stirrdd, as the people are, with enthusiasm,” at the break with Ger- many, they wousd support a conscrip- tion measure, Mr. Taft believed, “not only to meet the present situation, hu;‘ “for the future after the war shall end.” Until now, been “of. cause popular opponflnn ml‘ht h.lve halted ail plans for reasonable pre- Military Duty a Necessity. “Now the war is on us, however,” he contiiued, “now that the people see the necessity, why should we not take advantage of this state of public mind and do what justice and real democracy require? Military duty is part of every citizen’s duty. ‘In this country, in the happy homes of pros- perity, 1 fear many of the people have lost the vital sense of their obliga- tions to the government. To Discipline Young Men. “Very little service of any kind has been exacted from the great body of the people. Conscription is needed to discipline oyr native young men and to teach them respect for authority. It is needed to teach our millions of newly created citizens lovalty. Stir- red as they are by enthusiasm, spur- red as they are by immediate neces- sity, they would support congress in enacting a conscription law making provision not only for the present but for the future after the war shall end.” A wholly volunteer system, he said, takes the “flower of the country’s youth anxious to sacrifice themselves, and leaves behind those who can only be .dragged in by ultimate resort to Tawe Equslize the Burden. “Why not equalize the burden at once?” he asked. “Place it on al quire at least a . years service the colers from every man between 19 and 24. This need not interfere with capable men under 40. Such conscription would furnish a perma- nent trained force from the body of the entire people to supply an ade- quate defense whenever defense is necessary. In opening his remarks on con- scription, which were in the nature of a preface to his prepared address on the League to Enforce Peace, Mr. Taft said he had been asked to talk on constructive peace. Calls for Wise Action. “Is this topic out of place when this_country faces war as it does to- day?” he said. “I do not think so. ‘While all deplore our being forced in- to war and appreciate the sacrifice and the suffering it will entail, we should make its hard necessities a reason for wise action looking not only to the immediate exigency of the war itself but also to our future pol- as a country and the future wel- me of the ‘world.” Necessity for Preparedness. ‘The present situation, he said, should teach the absolute necessity for military _preparedness for self- protection. We have no desire, he sald, for difficulties with Germany and have done her no wrong, “vet she in violation of our rights proposes to do that which, if we value our honor and our vital interests. we must re- Sist by force.” There is nothing else for a_self-respecting nation of . moral principle to do, he declared. “What would be our situation today if the English navy were not between us and Germany?”’ he went on. “Can we afford to rely upon the protection of another nation always? Would we wish to do so” We ought not to make this a temporary matter. We ought to adopt measures o make us independent. Must Form a Strong Army. “There is danger that even now the sense of protection that'the forces of the allies afford us as a barrier to German offensive may lull us into a false security and weaken our sense of dueyt to ourselves. The navy we shall doubtless increase in power and efficiency with all dispatch.. For the army is likely to be of mushroom growth unless we look ahead. It is said we cannot well use an army in this war. Of all the limit- ing the extent or demands of a war is the least reliable. We must reso- iutely form a strong army.” Lesson of the Situation. Another lesson of the situation, he sald, is that gemeral Bu: n war_is certain to involve us and that for avoiding war an_international police must be organized of which the Unit- ed States must prepare o assume a just share of the burden: ““This war is a notice to us that a change in-our policy to our interna- tional relations' is at hand,” he said, “and that the isolation which we have hertofore enjoved is a thing of the past and that in our preparations to meet the needs of this present war ‘we should have mfiy in m.(nd a preparation to take our part in the couneils of the world lnd ln the world’s joint action to prevent the re- currence of another such disaster to the human race.” —_— ALL ARMORIES IN THE STATE BEING GUARDED General Cale Was in Conference With Gov. Holcomb Yesterday. Hartford, Conn., —Beyond the brief statement tonum that all the armories in the state were being guarded by miljtiamen, Adjutant Gen- eral’ George M. Cole of the Connecti- cut National Guard, would not dis cuss any phases of the situation that might arise in case of eventualities. General Cole conferred with Goyernor . Holeomb uring the day. e . Carmen., coodenud'l'ologram The Senate passed th hibition bill ll't-o 11. o Welght The Senats i i biL, 1.0.0.0'0:{“ fortifications Oregon’s anti-alien bill drawn from the Le'uhh;re. of copper for the week ary 1 were 8,306 tons. The total tax assessment of taxabl ‘”zx.;ty in Greenwich, Conn., is ushl The Boston Bar Associati tribute to former Governor l;:hnp.lltg Long, one of its founders. Gross earni of the Boston Eile- vated in January show an increase of $122,000 over January last year. A tornado struck Lincoin county, blowing away half of the two- -wry high school at Hustonville. M andise entered for warehouse at the port of New York for the week ended January 26 totaled 3,415,704. Owing to a coal shortage the Swed- ish Government ordered the re- striction of passenger traffic on raii- roads. = was with Qnded The Postoffice Depariment Las de- cided to continue the dispatch of mails to Burope despite German’s submarine threat. ron de Carter de Marchienne, Belgian minister at Peking, was a pointed minister of Belgium at Wash- ington. Charlestown Navy Yard was closed to visitors Saturday and a long pre. pared emrgency program became ef- fective. The federal doyd guard liner on the K_ronnreuswln North German L Ceclilie, tied up at Boston has been in- creased. Henry S. Hyde, for many years a di- rector and vice president of the New anlefl.a:;d Telephone & Telegraph Co., s d L. Four trans-Atlantic steamers sailed from Philadedlphia yesterday, bound direct for the prohibited German U- boat zone. The body of a dle was found on the, southbound. tracks of the subway, near 26th St. New York. ged man s The Tennessee Senate def d by a vote of 51 to 21, a bill extending lim- ited suffrage to women. The bill had passed the House. The United States Goverment has begun a thorough investigation of the sinking of the German B'.eanlship Lieb- fels at Charleston, S. Germany has decided upon martial at Brussels, in view of the forth- coming new deportation orders 60,000 Belgian workmen. Secretary of the Navy Daniels ord- ered the battleship Maine and three destroyers to proceed to Nw Orleans for the Mardi Gras celebration. IQ for The Holland-American liner Neuw Amstérdam, which_ left Rotterdam Thursday for New York, was recalled owing to the submarine situation. Because of the possibi s of dang- er from the present international sit- uation, army officials have taken steps for extra precautions at the Panama canal. It was announced at the Lynn, Ma: plant of the General Electric Co. that no contracts would be accepted here- after for shell casting for a foreign nation. A statement made public by the Interstate Commerce Commission shows that 59 railroads during De- cember earned $81,531,471, and ex- pended $58,954,273 The steamship Tampico, which struck on Great Point Rip while bound from Boston to Newport News in bal- last, was pulled oy by the coast guard cutter Achushnet. The British Ministers of Munitions ordered a census of the coal tar and coke by products industry, especial- ly those by-products that are used in making munition: um temperature of three degrees below zero, the coldest record- ed in Boston in thres years, was shown by official records of the weath- er bureau Saturday. The United States Cast Iron Pipe & Poundry Co., of Cottdale, near Con- nellsville, Pa., received an order for iron pipe totalling $3,500,000 from the Aregtntine Republic. Benedict W. Rossano, keeper at Riker’s Island, was discharged from the service of the Department of Correction, being charged with smugg- ling drugs to prisoners. Two business blocks were virtually destroyed and a third was badly dam- d in a fire wrich broke out at rt, N. H,, early Saturday morn- ing. The loss stimated at $40,000. A torpedo boat _destroyer - steamed from the League Island navy vard at Philadelphla with orders to hold up any ship that might attempt to leave the Delaware river without clearance papers. An amendment to the charter of the Standard Oil Co. of Xentucky, in- creasing its capital stock from $2000,- 000 to $6,000,000, was approved at the annual stockholders’ meeting at Louis- viile, Ky. Patrick Quinian, I. W. W. ator, told Governor Edge's investigating commssion that he was robbed of his ‘watch when he became a convict at the New Jersey State Prison. He never saw it again. e construction of 80 coast and 20 fleet fleet subma- rines, to secure America against for- eign invaion, was provided in a bill introduced in the Senate by Senator Poindexter of Washington. Charles H. Eavis and Elmer Gal- braith, formerly president of the old Second National Bank of Cincinnati, were found gullty on 28 counts of an idictment' charging them with violat- ing Federal banking laws. Movements of Steamships New York, Feb. 4.—Saile Steamer Rochambean, Bordeaux. New York, Feb, 4.—Saile: Liverpool. Steamer Housatomc Had Been Warned BY GERMAN SUBMARINE BEFORE SINKING HER CARRIED CONTRABAND Relief Felt in Washington—Submarine Rescued Members of the Crew and Towed Them for 90 Minutes Toward Land. ‘Washington, Feb. 4—The possibili ty that the sinking of the American steamer Housatonic will become a se- rious factor in the crisis with Germany apparently was eliminated today by evidence that the attacking subma rine acted within international lav American Consul Stephens Plymouth reported that warning wa given and provision made for safety of the crew. Was Carrying Contraband. As the Housatonic was carrying corn- traband. any controversy over her destruction is expected to present no more serious ap issue than a claim for monetary damages. If the consul's re- port is correct, the case apparently falls into the same category as that the American ship William F. Fry destroyed with. a cargo of grain early in the war by a raider after her crew had been taken off. Consul Stephens’ despatch said: Crew Rescued by Submarine. merican steamer Housatonic, loaded with a cargo of wheat for the British government, torpedoed by Ger- man submarine 12.30, February 3. Ves sel warned and total crew of 37 res- cued by submarine and towed for nine- ty minutes toward land. Submarine fir- ed signal to Eritish patrol boat, which subsequently landed crew at Pen zance.” In some quarters the unusual pre cautions taken to insure a safe lan; ing for the crew was taken to mean that international law and Germany’s submarine pledges would be observed more scrupulously than ever in the case of the many vessels which wers on the high seas at the time the new campaign of unrestricted warfare be- came effective February 1. In her note announcing the campalgn Germany said immunity from the new measure of warfare would be extended to all ships which had left their home ports before the effective date. Relief Felt in Washington. News that a warning had been giv and that the crew, which included sev- eral Americans, had been saved, caus- -ed-distinct rélief here. First fragmen- tary reports of the atfack had-a sen- sational effect in ome quarters and led to fears that the overt act which might mean hostilitles actually had been committed. The White House an1 state departments however, have de- clined to form any opinion on incom- plete evidence and Consul Stephen's despatch was made public today with- out comment. Crew Safely Landed. London, Feb. 4—The crew of the American steamer Housatonic has been landed at Penzance, England. Th Housatonic was warned by the Ger- man submarine which sank her, ac cording to John G. Stevens, America. consul .at Plymouth. Mr. Stevens to- day sent the following telegram to Tho Associated Press: “Total crew of 37 of Hou landed at Penzance Saturday. !orpedoet] by a German submarine at 12.30 Satu Warned. Cretv tow- mlnutaa by submarine toward onic Vensel Mr. Stevens telegraphed today to Robert P. Skinner, the American con- sul-general, that the Housatonic was halted by a German submarine at noon and that, after being warned the crew took t othe boats. The Housatonic was then torpedoed and sunk and the submarine towed the boats to a port off the English coast. INTERNED GERMANS SET GUNBOAT AFIRE AT HONOLULU The Geier, Which Took Refuge There When War Began. Honolulu, Feb. 4—The crew of the self-interned gunboat Geler today set the vessel ‘afire, according to the au- thorities here. The gunboat was of 1,604 tons and took refuge here soon after the war began. She was built at Wilhelmshaven in 1894 WAR-BOUND GERMAN CREWS ATTEMPT TO DISABLE SHIP Appropriate Step Taken by Philippine Government. Washington, Feb. 4 —War-bound German crews at FPhilippine have attempted to disable some their ships and appropriate steps have have been taken by the island au- thorities. Germans Dismantle Ships. Manila, Philippines, Feb. 4.—It believed here that the crews of the German steamships laid up in Manila Bay have dismantled the machinery of the vessels. The authorities de- clined to give any information Guards have been placed on the v sels. The Germans have discharged ilipinos in the crews. The American squadron has return- ed from target practice and is pa trolling the bay NO IMPORTANT CHANGE ON ANY WAR FRONT. Small Operations by Ru Germans in Sectors Near Riga. On none of the war fronts has there been any important fighting. The ‘Russians and Germans have continued thelr operations in sevaral of the sec- tors near Riga. The Russians admit the penetration of their trenches by the Germans along the Kalnzem road southwest of Riga, but say they were driyén out later in a counter-attaclk. Hn ad- mits the repulse of Russian attacks along the Aa river. Small attacks, mostly by raiding parties, and bombardments continue to prevail on the front in France and Belgium. At several points surprise attacks have given the PBritish French German trench elements.