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Show AMERICANS ARE HELD PRISONERS Germans Have Sailors of Yar-rowdale Yar-rowdale as Hostages for Safety of Teutons. Washington, Feb. 13 Formal notification of the retention .n Ger-' Ger-' many of the seventy-two American sailors brought in as prisoners on the prize ship Yarrowdale, was given to , the state departure today by Dr. Paul I Ritter, Swiss minister here acting I for the German government, together togeth-er with an inquiry as to the status of the crews of the German war-bound war-bound ships in American harbors. German, Dr. Ritter said, had decided de-cided to hold the Yarrowdale prisoners pris-oners until she has bad definite as-suranco as-suranco that German crews in Amerl- can harbors would not be held or im-1 im-1 prisoned. j This development, wholly unexpected, unex-pected, wras amazing to the American Amer-ican government. Officials here had come to the conclusion that the i early reports which misled the German Ger-man government as to the treatment of German crews here had been effectively ef-fectively dispelled by the forwarding forward-ing of complete details As this included in-cluded the presidential announcement that the German ships would not be seized now or in the event of war1 and full information about the fair 1 attitude of the government toward the German sailors, officials are wholly a, a loss to know what kind of report could have so suddenly changed Germany's attitude. A query was at once cabled to the governor of Hawaii, the only section sec-tion where German ships are war-bound war-bound where all the conditions are not known. There is not the least thought that any variation will be found there in tho uniformly courteous courte-ous treatment accurded German vessels, ves-sels, but officials want a detailed account ac-count of the status of the two war vessels and the eight merchantmen there in order to present a final report re-port showing the conditions in all American harbors. Such a report already has been received from the Philippines and included in the blanket blan-ket statement previously sent Ger-j many. Eventual release of the Yarrow-dale Yarrow-dale prisoners is regarded as assured, but an urgent protest against their relmprlsonment will be made at onceJ A peremptory demand for the release! of these prisoners was about tho last 1 instruction sent former Ambassador Gerard. Though the boat came Into; port December 31, its arrival was not' reported for military reasons until January Jan-uary 19. Following reports that there ffere Americans on board, three direct; inquiries were made culminating In a list of 64 American sailors held pris-i oners in Westphalcn made public by the state department only a few hours, before President Wilson announced the severance of relations with Germany Ger-many to congress. Immediately afterward aft-erward the announcement of a protest against their imprisonment and demand de-mand for their release was given out at the state department. The next day came word of their release and it was ; supposed until today that they would go out of Germany with the other Americana. Honolulu, Feb. 12. (Cable to San Francisco.) The seventy six sailors from various German ships taking ret-1 UEP ill Hawaiian vatern were rplpaepH from detention today by United Mates j Immigration Inspector Halsey, acting,! he said, under orders from Secretary of Labor Wilson. Simultaneously charges against officers of-ficers and men held for alleged destruction de-struction of machinery and otherwise damaging the self-Interned ships were dismissed in the federal court at the orders of the district attorney, who has no reason for his action. |