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Show SINK I SIGHT IS THE PLAN ADOPTED American Merchantmen Will Not Take Any Chances if Submarines Are Seen Approaching the Vessels Partially Submerged. PROTEST ARRIVES FROM GERMANY No Reply Will Be Made by This Country; Administration Ad-ministration Plans for eparedness Being Pushed With Utmost (jgor. By E. R. SAE.TWELL, Staff Correspondent of the Interna-tional Interna-tional News Service. WASHINGTON", March 10. Behind a curtain of secrecy and with ominous calm, the United States went about the business of arming its merchantmen to f ombat submarines in the German war tone today. Elaborato precautions to shroud with secrecy all of the movements of armed ships were planned at a conference between be-tween Secretary of the Treasury Mc-Adoo Mc-Adoo and Counselor Polk at the state department. All of the treasnry department's control of the port and harlxir waters of the United States will be exercised to safeguard the merchant ships which will brave the hidden dangers of the submarine zone under orders to sink at sight an undersea boat approaching in a threatening manner. Following a decision of the state department de-partment that the sinking of a submarine subma-rine by an armed merchant ship would be merely an "act of defense" if the submarine was in a position to attack, the administration ordered the utmost precautions to conceal armed ships' movements and to facilitate their sailings. sail-ings. Sink on Sight. ibn state department's announcement,.. announce-ment,.. -that American ships will sink "suspicious submarines on sight" was followed by a significant visit to the state department by fir. Paul Ritter, the Swiss minister, now in charge of the affairs of Germany in this country. Dr. Hitter conferred at length with Counsellor Polk. After the conference neither the Swiss minister nor the stato department depart-ment would discuss the visit, but it was understood that the Swiss diplomat had presented informally to the department de-partment the views of Germany as to the arming of American merchant ships. The German communication was l in the form of a protest, it was stated, I and indicated no change in Germany's j announced determination to sink without with-out warning, neutral or belligerent, , armed or unarmed, found in the barred ; zono. It was understood at the state department that the German expression will not call for any reply from the United PtateB. i Lid of Secrecy. Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo i and Counsellor Pollt went over all the ' arrangements for clamping the lid of secrecy on all of the usual ship news distributed through the treasury department, de-partment, which keeps track of all sailings and arrivals at American ports. They also discussed the use of all of the "customs service machinery, for facilitating fa-cilitating the secret departure and arrival ar-rival of American armed ships. All rules an to the nil-illr-atlon of rar-nn'f. rar-nn'f. papers, and all of the rd tape nur- rounding the r-lcaran'R of vesm-ls, will he 4 en ponded, arid tm; !leral aiilhorlflea will ; exert r-'.Hiv effort to aid llipt armed rner-i rner-i rh'intm"!! In rnnklnir their voyages under ; w;)r-il'n Mc-rey. TIitg will he no an-', an-', noon' ' "'''t :m In the dctnllH of the cl'',r' 'JA ' UHioma procedure. '-JruMiln uiArlin-rit'K position as to (Continued on Page Three.) 511 1 SIGHT; 15 TIE PL1 ADOPTED (Continued from Pa bo One.t the rights of armed merchantmen was announced by Secretary of State Lansing. He declared the United States would adhere to lis former ruiings. that merchantmen, mer-chantmen, armed or unarmed, were entitled en-titled to insist upon the exercise of the right of "visitation and search" at sea. Not Act of War. He said armed merchantmen of the United States would not fire upon submarines sub-marines approaching- on the surface wltu lIir apparent intention of searching1 the ship for contraband. But he held t lia t the German repudiation of all rules of international in-ternational law in 1 he barred zone would justify the immediate sinking of a submarine sub-marine approaching submerged with the evident intAntkm of firing a torpedo without with-out wa-ning. The sinking of a submarine under such rircumstances, the state de-pa de-pa rtment holds, would be an act of defense de-fense and could not he construed Into an act of war. The state department announcement an-nouncement cfiused some, concern ot the na vy depart ment, where It was stated that no orders to frunners on merchantmen merchant-men would be made pirhlic. Secretary of i lie Navy Daniels conferred with Counsellor Coun-sellor Polk after the state depart men t announcement, but would not discuss the matter. Behind the screen of voluntary censorship censor-ship which today became effective at the request of the president, made through Serreta rv of the Navy Daniels, all the administration's plans for preparedness for war were pushed with vlor. All details de-tails were withheld from publication, but the work went on smoothly and quietly. |