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Show TURKEY WILL PERMIT REFUGEESJp DEPART Submarine Situation, However, How-ever, May Prevent Early Return to ,U. S. WASHINGTON, Feb. 17. Permission for the departure of the American refugees refu-gees from Turkey has been given by the Ottoman government. Ambassador Elkus at Constantinople advised the state department today that a Turkish authority had expressed the hope that the Americans would be given passage soon and their departure would in no way be interfered with. American missionaries in Syria, Palestine Pal-estine and Turkey are awaiting transportation trans-portation at Beirut. The naval collier Caesar and armored cruiser Des Moines are now at Alexandria, Egypt, loaded with food supplies and relief stores for delivery in Syria and Palestine. State department officials said the question of Germany's submarine blockade, block-ade, which extends iuto Mediterranean waters, would have to be taken into consideration before the two vessels were dispatched to Beirut. Permission also must be obtained from the British and French governments for the vessels to pass through the allied blockade. France already has consented to such an arrangement. Ambassador Elkus said the Turkish government had reduced the quarantine from thirty to one or two days, in order that the Americans might leave immediately. immedi-ately. Expressions of friendship for the United States and of the hope that friendly relations may continue have been given to Ambassador Elkus by the Turkish foreign office. A dispatch from the ambassador makes no reference to Turkey supporting Germany's submarine subma-rine policy or that she intends to apply it with the few submarines known to be under her flag. |