| Show I A US TRIA CLAIMS NO KNOWLEDGE OF I PERSIA SINKING i One Twenty Twenty One Su Survivors Make Vlake r Affidavits Th That t Explosion 1 C Came me Without Warning and That No Vessel Was S Seen en CASE BEFORE U. U S1 S. CABINET GABINET WASHINGTON Jan Jane 7 The The sub submarine arine crisis still sil of uncertain status because lse of la lack k of details was placed by President Wilson before the cabinet today in n its first meeting since his return from Hot Springs Va The rhe senate foreign relations committee committee also met to consider consider con con- sider the situation but a as Chairman Stone was ws d detained at the vi White House by a conference re e w with th t th the president adjourned without t action r I Although more than thaia fa w week ek las has 1 as passed since the steamship Persia was as sunk in l d nean with the loss of American c m hf life off officials today were still uninformed as to whether whether the the vessel was torp torpedoed tor tor- tor- tor p doe and if so the nationality of th the submarine Developments t continued to indi indicate at that the American government would withhold action n pending official advices determining ning these points J I. I Overnight developments included the receipt of dispatches from Ambassador Penfield 1 a Vienna asserting that the Austrian government govern govern- m ment nt was without in information o mation concerning the incident up to then the tho n night of JaI January uary 4 and fro from Consul Garrels Garrels a at Alexa Alexandria dria Egypt that t he had obtained affidavits from one twenty yone survivors of the tho Persia including Charles H. H Grant an American citizen and that all U confirmed previous statements that no warning was given and no vessel was seen seen I Ambassador Penfield's dispatch added that Baron Burian the A Austrian for foreign ign minister has asked what information concerning th the incident was wa's in Poss possession sion ion of the United S States J 8 lt a rd dated t a yest yesterday and contained only informal in hi formal inform information tion in response to his inquiry as to whether the Austro Aus- Aus tro Hungarian tro-Hungarian Hul garian government had knowledge of the sinking of the tho P Peria Persia Per Per- r- r sia ia and if so what the thc circumstances were State department officials had hoped that inquiries of the Vienna foreign office would result in information which might clear up the doubt regarding the circumstances of the disaster It W was WS S considered considered consid consid- ered still possible that the Hungarian Austro-Hungarian government might obtain ob tam tain the desired information later litter as a submarine operating where here the Persia was sunk sunk- might h have e been so far from its base that its commander commander would h b be unable to rep report rt promptly I Officers and ere crew cres ereo o of the Persia Persi Consul Garrels reported h have left Alexandria for England Their Theil affidavits will b be bo sought upon their arrival there It was disclosed today after th the offic official al text of Austria's reply fo o the second Ame American note in the Ancona case had been made public pub pub- li lie lic that no response would b be made until the facts in the case of the Persia are cleared up or it is found impossible to do so As the cabin cabinet t assembled it was made plain that the members agreed wit with the president that in the case of the Persia nothing could be done until al all the tile facts were at hand Some members rs expressed the the opinion that it might never be learned whether the Persia was sunk by a submarine and if so what nation was responsible Regardless of the outcome of the tile Persia case however the tile majority majority majority ma ma- of the cabinet members are represented as believing that tho the time has come for making certain that no further attacks on merchant merchant mer mer- chant ships carrying Americans will be made The administration leaders arc are said to feel that continued loss oi of life of Americans will lead the hc United States into hostilities The Persia incident was vas tak taken n up only briefly at the cabinet I meeting because Secretary Lansing had no definite recommend recommendations to make in the absence of specific facts regarding the sinking of the ship One t member said that tho the mention of the foreign situation situation sit sit- nation at the meeting was was only superficial |
