THE WEATHER
FAIR TO-NIGHT
AND TO MORROW
detailed Keport. Pace •
ggfWSSL" 0 VOL. 77—NO. 65.
LOOPERS
LUNCH IN
HAZLETON
Chamber of Commerce
Tourists Speeding
Through the Coal Re*
gions To-day
DUE IN READING
BY DINNER TIME
Harrisburg Party Is Being Entertained
Boyally All Along the Line of the
Two-Day Trade Extension Trip—
Coming Home To-night
BY ROBERT R. FREE
Hazleton, Pa., Feb. 18.—Deeply im
pressed with the hospitality of Wilkes-
Barre, where they spent last night, |
the members of the Harrisburg Chamber .
of Commerce, who are making a two- ]
day trade extension tour of Central [
Pennsylvania cities, arrived in Hazle-}
ton at 11.34 o'clock this morning. This
is the second highest spot in the State
of Pennsylvania and being at so high 1
an altitude was a new experience for;
the party, which was augmented by
four more Harrisburgers in Wilkes- j
Barre.
It was cold when the Harris/burgers
arrived here but the travelers soon I
thawed out when they were taken care
of by Hazleton Board oif Trade. Lunch
eon in the Hotel Loughran further
helped in the thawing process and the
visitors were ready and willing to lis
ten to local boomers as the latter told
of the anthracite industry. All the
while the Harrisburgers were getting
in a few licks for Harrisburg jobbers,
■wholesalers and manufacturers who ex- 1
]>ect to flood this section with Harris
burg-made goods.
No sooner had Robert W. Hoy, of
the Harrisburg Light & Power Com
pany, joined the party last night than
things began to happen. Sitting as a i
■"committing magistrate,'' he issued a
■warrant for the arrest of Harry Low
engard, "charged" with the "larceny "j
of a traveling bag containing a suit of j
pink pnjamas and a tooth brush. "Con-!
stable" W. H. Bennethum, Jr., served ■
the warrant. Prosecuting Attorney
Wharton entered a plea of "Nolle con
tender" before the court and as no
body,— not even the court, —knew
what that meant the prisoner was dis
charged with a reprimand by Magis
trate Hoy.
With Hoy joining the party in j
Wilkes-Barre were F. P. Farqnarson,
Clark E. Deihl, City Electrician, who
never misses anything in the way of;
fun ,and W. H. Bushey, of Lemovne. I
W illiatn McCreath, of Harrisburg, |
was stopping at the Sterling Hotel in j
Wilkes-Barre when the party arrived!
last night. He said he was going to:
accompany the tourists ba-'k to Har-1
risburg but lie missed the train.
In Wilkes-Barre Isaac Long, of,
Simon Ixing & Sons, entertained Joseph
and Herman Claster, William Strouse,
Herman Tausig and Samuel Marks.
The party took a trip over to Scran
ton.
A short stop will be made in Potts-1
ville this afternoon where the members j
of the Merchants' Association will
greet the Harrisburg party. Through!
the kindness of Health Commissioner
Dixon, the Harrisburgers have obtained
the privilege of inspecting the now ■
State tuberculosis sanitarium in Ham
burg, and the Hamburg Chamber of j
Commerce has promised plenty of au
tomobiles to convey the party. P. G.;
Diener, who arranged this feature of '
the trip, was given a vote of thanks
when he announced the plan this morn
ing.
Dinner will be served in the Hotel
Berkshire in Reading this evening and
the party will embark on the last leg'
of the journey,—from Keaii'ing to Har
risburg,—at 9 o'clock to-night.
TOIRIXti PARTY PASSES
XltiHT IX WILKES-BIRRE
(Special to the Star-Independent.)
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Feb. 18. —The
seventy-five members of the Harrisburg
Chamber of Commerce who are making
a two-day tour of Central Pennsylva
nia cities to advertise Harrisburg as j
the " Heat of Distribution" for this
territory, arrived here last evening and
passed the night in the Sterling hotel.
After leaving Sunbury early yester
day afternoon the party stopped off in
'Northumberland where it was greeted
by the Calhouud band, which played
"Tippperary" as the special train
pulled into the station. Led by the
band the visitors paraded the principal
streets of the town. Clyde Belig, presi
dent of the Northumberland Bureau of
Industry, made a speech in which he
Coatianed on Tklrteeatk Pace. |
SI)C Slit- Sukpewktii
SEEKING NAME OF WRITER
OF MYSTERIOUS LETTER
Authorities Investigating the Murder
Bevealed by Bones Found in Cellar
Are Eager to Obtain More Details
From Person Who Sent Letter
The inquiry now being conducted by
District Attorney M. E. Stroup in con
; nection with the finding last Friday of
the bones of a young woman buried in
the cellar of the house at 133 South
Fourteenth street to-day was centered
on ascertaining the whereabouts of the
relatives of a girl referred to in the
anonymous letter received yesterday
by t'he State's attorney as the possible
victim of the murder. Efforts to lo
cate Bessie Guyer, of Mechanicsburg,
another girl who has been referred to
as the possible victim, thus fat have
been futile.
The woman whose name just yester
day was brought into the case through
the mysterious letter to the District
Attorney was married when quite
young and is believed to have been
| the mother of a child. Certain ele-
I men in the case, especially that fea
! ture which relates to the fact of there
having been a baby, the authorities
I say, warrant their laying greater stress
! on this new clue, although they profess
; not to have abandoned the search for
I Bessie Guyer, who is not the girl re
| ferred to in the mysterious note.
County Detective James T. Walters
has almost completely switched his line
lof investigating since the unsigned
■ letter was received yesterday morning,
j He declines, however, to give out full
j details of the statements made in the.
I letter and is hoping that the writer of
j the note will reveal his or her identity
! and thus aid the authorities in the in
i quiry.
A rumor was about this afternoon
I that Bessie Guyer had been located in
j Gratz, in the upper end of this county.
No information to that effect hail been
1 received at the District Attorney's of
fice, however.
PARTNERS CANNOT AGREE
Ask for Receiver for "V. A. S. Com
pany" and Court Appoints One
—Assets Said to Be Intact
Because certain differences that
have arisen between them are declared
to be irreconcilable and because they
fear the further continuance by them
; of their business would be jeopardising
' the rights of their cerditors, H. E. Von
j Hoffs and Ida M. Sjonsler, constituting
the "V. A. S. Company,'' a clothing
firm having quarters in a room at
Fourth an.l Market streets, to-day pe
titioned the Dauphin county court to
appoint a receiver for their concern.
As both members of the firm ac
quiesced in the petition the Court at
I once named Mercer B. Tate, of this
city, receiver, and directed that he fur
! nish a $3,000 bond. "Bhe bond was
I tiled. The owners assert the company
is in splendid financial condition ami
j that the assets, which consist chiefly of
I women's apparel, if sold at a fair
| market price, will net a return far in
excess of tl e total indebtedness.
In the petition for the receiver this
declaration is made:
"Certain differences and disputes
have arisen and do now exist between
the said partners as to the manner of
conducting the partnership business and
as to their personal conduct and rela
i ti ous thereto, in consequence of which
t the business of the partnership cannot
j be continued at a profit and the rights
;of the creditors will be jeopardized
j thereby.''
FLAMES - KILL_WOIBAN, 70
Mrs. Samuel Manning, of Duncannon,
Lives Only a Few Hours After
Being Terribly Bunted
'Special to the Star-Independent.)
Duncannon, Pa., Feb. 18. —After a
feiw hours of severe suffering, Mrs.
Samuel Manning, "0 years old, died at
i 1 o'clock this morning from burns she
| received last night when her dress
; caught fire. Before aid reached her
! the flames had terribly burned thie flesh
on her arms and face.
The first person to come to Mrs.
1 Manning's aid in response to her
j screams was her daughter, Mrs. Harry
; Mutzabaugh. She saw the flames
I through a kitchen window, rushed into
' the room and threw water on the burn
ing woman.
It is not definitely known how the
woman's clothes caught fire, but it is
believed by members of her family
that she came in contact with hot ashes
that she was removing from the stove.
I'art of the ceiling of the kitchen was
1 burned before neighbors put out the
j fire.
Mrs. Manning is survived by her hus
i band and three children. None of them
was in the kitchen when the accident
j occurred.
(i. C. BI'SER FOR POSTMASTER
Nominated by President to Fill Hum
melstown Vacancy
Word came yesterday from Washing
ton of the nomination by President
Wilson of Grover C. Buser, of Hnin
melstown, for [>o3tmaster of that town.
The President's recommendations arc
now being ccnsiijered by the Senate.
Mr. Buser is at present assistant
foreman in the composing room of the
Star-lnde[>etident, where he has been
employed since learning the printer's
trade thirteen years ago.
Another nomination sent to the Sen
ate is that of Joseph O. Lesher for
postmaster of Huntingdon.
Kirkendall Appointed Revenue Collector
By Associated Proa.
Washington, Feb. 18. —Fred C. Kirk
endall, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was to-day
nominated collector of internal revenue
for the Twelfth Pennsylvania district.
HARRISBURG, PA., THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 18, 1915—14 PAGES.
RUSSIA ORDERS
1 WAR MITOS
IK HARSISBURC
MortonTruckCompany
Gets Cable Announc
ing $ 1,500,000 Con
tract Is Obtained
MEANS WORK
FOR 250 MEN
Local Firm Will Begin Making the Ma
chines Just as Soon as Arrange
ments Can Be Made to Place the
Money With Ne-w York Bankers
An order for 300 large type of ar
mored .motor trucks, for use in thie Eu
ropean war, costing in the neighborhood
of a million ami a half dollars, was
placed to-day by the Russian govern
ment with the Morton Truck & Tractor
Company, of this city.
This announcement was receive*! in a
cablegram sent here by a Russian of
ficial in Petrograd. The cable was re
ceived this morning. Besides stating
that the local company's proposal to
furnish the trucks hia>d been accepted it
asserted that the $1,500,000, the cost
of the cars, will be deposited within
a day or so in a New York banking
house.
W. S. Morton, general manager of
the local firm, this afternoon announced
that preparations at .once will be be
gun for filling the order and that it will
mean the immediate employment of at
least 250 akiditional men in the local
plant.
The order calls for cais that shall
be of the four-wheel drive type and of
120-horsepower capacity. They are to i
be used "for the transfer of ammunition
and provisions.
The list price of these cars, the gen
eral manager of the firm said, is
$9,000, but for fhe big order the pro
posal fixe« the price of each at $5,000.
Only recently the Morton company
was advised by British government rep
resentatives to enlarge its plant and
prepare to handle a big order and it
was in pursuance of that advice that
the concern leased part of the plant of
the Harrisburg Manufacturing and
Boiler Company.
Two of the Morton brothers, mem
bers of the local firm, now are in Lon
don demonstrating armored cars which
were manufactured at the local plant
as samples and they this week cabled
the firm here that the prospects for get
ting a large order from the British are
very bright.
The British government is a'bout to
let contracts for several hundred trucks
and tractors, the majority of which are
to be armored.
SERVIA ORDERS 90 STEEL CARS
Contract Obtained by Middletown
Plant Means Work for Unemployed
Middletown, Feb. 18.—Hope of tho
unemployed for better labor conditions
here was brightened last evening whon
the Middletown Car Company an
nounced the receipt of an order for
ninety all-steel box cars to be furnished
to the Servian government, one of the
European belligerent nations.
The company recently got an order
for fifteen steel tank cars anid work
upon the two contracts will be begun
within a few weeks or as aoon as the
car plant, which now is being re
modeled, is completed. Officials of the
company are of the opinion that these
two jobs will keep the plant going un
til other larger orders-, which are ex
pected, are obtained. The order for
the tank cars was placed by the Bra
zilian government.
WOMAN AIDSJN BURGLARY
Marks of Her Shoes Are Found In the
Mud Near a House That Is
Bobbed in Paxtang
Shoe marks in the mud leading from
the home of Harvey A. Frank, Derry
street, Paxtang, to the tracks of the
Philadelphia & Reading railroad led the
Paxtang borough authorities to the con
clusion this morning that a man and
a woman were parties to the rtfbbery
of the Frank home early last evening.
Thirty jars of canned fruit, mostly
peaches; a bushel of potatoes and other
provisions were taken.
I'hat the robbery was committed
While the Franks were calling on
neighbors is indicated by the marks in
the mud, which afterward became
frozen. A pane of glass was cut from
the cellar window, the latch released
I and entrance gained. ' The police are
[ investigating.
14 MEMBERS DF DESTROYED
ZEPPELIN WERE RESCUED
London, Feb. 18.—Fourteen mem
bers of the crew of the Zeppelin dir
igible which was destroyed by an ex
plosion on Fancc island were rescued
and will be interned by the Danish au
thorities, says a dispatch from Copen
hagen to licuter's Telegram Company.
Tihe Zeppelin was cruising over the
island with another dirigible when it
caught fire and was compelled to
descend, landing before the explosion
took place.
The destroyed Zeppelin was the L-3,
one of the largest in commission. She
was completed in 1914 and was 550
feet long, had a diameter of 61 feet and
•displaced 32 tons. She was supplied
with four motors with a total horse
power of 720, and had a speed of 40
knots. Commander Prinz says the sit
uation when the fire broke out was
critical. He feared that tihe bombs on
board the airship would explode before
he could get to the ground.
AUSTRIANS TAKE TOWN IN
CALICIA AFTER HARD FiCHT
Vienna, Feb. 18, Via London, 9.10
A # M.—Official reports given out in
Vienna say that after two days of hard
fighting the Austrians have occupied
the town cf Kolomea, in Galicia.
"This success was achieved, yester
day afternoon by means of a general
attack on the Russian positions," the
report says. "We drove the enemy in
*pite of his stubborn resistance out of
his last positions in front of Kolomea,
thus reaching the town at one opera
tion. We prevented the Russians from
blowing up the bridge over the river
Pruth. The town, clear of retreating
Russians, was occupied by us. We
captured 2.000 prisoners and several
machine guns and liguit cannon.
. "In the Carpathian section, as far
as Vysehkoff, t'he fighting continues
with great ferocity. Four thousand ad
ditional prisoners have been brought
in."
FOUR VESSELSSU' K BY THE
WILHELM DURING THIS YEAR
Buenos Argentine, Feb. 18.—
The Oerman steamer Helger, which has
arrived here, brings news that during
the months of January and February,
the German auxiliary cruiser Crown
Price Wilhelm, operating on the north
ern coast of Brazil, sank the British
steamer Hemisphere, the British steam
er Potard, the sailing ship Sumatra and
the sailing ship Wilfred. The crews of
these vessels are on board the Helger.
LLOYDS RAISE RATES ON U. S.
-GERMANY WAR INSURANCE
London, Feb. 18, 5.35 P. M.—ln
surance was placed at Lloyds to-day
at 20 guineas per cent, on policies cov
ering the holder against war between
the United States and Germany within
six month's.
One month ago the premium for this
same risk and period of time was five
guineas per cent.
Destroyers Will Convoy Steamers
New York, Feb. 18. —Swift British
and French destroyers will meet all
threatened steamships flying flags of
the allies and escort them into port,
according to cable messages received by
oflicials of steamship companies with
offices in this city.
Effect of German Blockade
London, Feb. 18, 1.40 P. M. —The
immediate effect of the German subma
rine blockade of the British Isles, be
ginning to j «lay, was to tie u.p all pas
senger traffic from Knglund to Holland.
The Scandinavian lines, however, have
not as yet been affected.
LUTE WfIRIEWS SUMY
Germany has declined to alter her
position in consequence of the Ameri
can note concerning the war zone de
cree, although expressing the most
friendly feelings toward this country.
The German reply, a summary of which
was cabled from Berlin, states that
Germany cannot abandon her position,
in view of the attempts of England to
cut off the food supply of non-combat
ants and recommends that the United
States send warships to protect Ameri
can vessels passing through the danger
zone. The German decree went into ef
fect at midnight, but there have been
few changes in sailings to and from
England.
Emperor William has telegraphed to
the president of the province of East
Prussia that the Russians have been
completely defeated and driven from
the province.
An official communication from
Vienna says that the Russians have
been defeated in Bukowina, where the
Austro-German forces have been ad
vancing recently. A report from the
Russian war office however, asserts that
there Is no change in Bukowina. It
speaks of ferocious fighting in Northern
Poland, and says that the Russians
have won the advantage in several en
gagements in Galicia,
Turkey has yielded to Greece and
offered satisfaction for the Insult to the
Greek naval attache at Constantinople.
The incident which led to the departure
of the Greek Minister is now closed.
Fourteen members of the crew of the
Zeppelin, which was destroyed over
Fance Island, were rescued and will he
interned by the Danish authorities. The
Zeppelin, one of the largest of the Ger
man dirigibles caught fire while cruis
ing; over the island.
GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO U. S. IS
REPORTED RECALLED TO BERLIN
•OTYKJ+HT rt-tvvAitfH BR «v;«
COUNT JOHANNT VON SER-NSTORJ-'P
A despuiui received troiu Aaisteiuum l>ic iterliu thai
Count von Bernstorff, the German Ambassador to the United States, has been
summoned to Berlin. Countess von Bernstorff, It Is added, had engaged passage
to jo,in her husband at Washington, but she cancelled the booking a few hours
before the vessel left.
11l ME IN
AIGWVUE FIRE
She Is Rescued With
Difficulty From the
Burning Fumes of
Gasoline
REARPARTOF HER
HOME DESTROYED
Another Menacing Blaze in Business
District of Town Which Last Week
Voted Against Plan to Spend #lO,-
000 for Purchase of Apparatus
(Special to the Star-Independent.)
Newville, Pa., Feb. 18.—The town
of Newville, which in a special election
last week defeated a plan to float a
$lO ,000 loan to buy modern fire-fight
ing apparatus, this morning had an
other dangerous fire in the heart of the
business section which almost cost the
life of one woman and did damage es
timated at $1,500. The firemen with
their inadequate apparatus fought for
an hour before they got the blaze under
control.
Mrs. Clyde , Sweigert, wife of the
proprietor of a* Newville department
store, was seriously burned about the
arms and body, but physicians say she
will recover.
The fire occurred in the Sweigert
home and started about 7.45 o'clock
while Mrs. Sweigert was cleaning a
dress with gasoline. Fumes from the
gasoline caught fire from the kitchen
range and in a moment' Mrs. Sweigert's
clothing was a mass of flames. The
dress she had been cleaning took fire
I and the receptacle holding the gasoline
fell to the floor, the flaimes spreading
rapidly. ,
' Mrs. Sweigert ran from the house
in search of an old piece of carpet to
throw about her body. Neighbors who
were attracted by her cries, aided her
in beating out the flames, but did not
succeed in this until she had been seri
| ously burned.
The Sweigert department store is
| immediately adjoining the Sweigert
• home, and Mr. Sweigert sent in a fire
! alarm. The rear of the home wan gut
j ted by the time the firemen with their
limited fire-fighting equipment got the
j blaze under control.
At one of the fire it was fear
; ed the local department would have to
' call on Carlisle for assistance as it was
thought the flames would spread to
nearby frame buildings. The drug store
of R. B. Cloudy once was ablaze, but
the flames were extinguished there be-
I fore much damage was done.
This was the third fire that has oc
curred in the same business block in
the last eight months, and the fourth
within the year. It was the first fire
to occur since the SIO,OOO fire appara
tus loan was defeated last week.
CHECK FIRE WITH DYNAMITE
924)0,000 Blaze Threatened to Destroy
Village of Edensburg
By Associated Press.
Edensburg, Pa., Feb. 18. —Fire
Which threatened to destroy the vil
lage was checked to-day by the use of
dynamite after 13 buildings in the
business section nad been burned, with
a lose of 5200.000.
f i
KILLED AS ROCK
PITHS 100F
Hummelstown Man,6o
Years Old, in Vain
Seeks Shelter to
Avoid Blast
FRIEND AT HIS
SIDE IS FELLED
Just Before Dynamite Is Set Off, Pair
Rush Into Blacksmith Shop to Es
cape Missiles, but 20-Pound Boulder
Comes Crashing Through
(Special to the Star-Independent.)
Hummelstown, Pa., Fob. 18.—iHeury
Tinney, of this place, was instantly
killed, and Peter Fisher, also of Hum
melstown, was injured at 10 o'clock
this morning when they were struck by
stones coining through the roof of the
blacksmith shop at the Bradley
ries in Swatara following a blast.
The men lijjd gone to the quarries
to look for work and while walking
about the premises before making ap
plication at the office, they entered the
blacksmith shop as a shelter/from near
by blasting and there, by a peculiar
circumstance, they were struck by two
stones which crashed through the single
covering of the structure. Tinney
dropped to the floor lifeless without ut
tering a sound.
According to Fisher, who, following
the accident, walked about the quarry
with his head bandaged to await the
arrival of kroner Eckinger, he and his
unfortunate companion had been warned
by a whistle of an approaching blast
when they were svme little distance
from the blacksmith shop, but had gone
toward the danger and entered the
building, thinking to be protected
there.
Thought It a Safe Retreat
Men were working in the shop, which
was about fifty feet from tt»e scene of
the blasting. S tones from tlie quarry
had never struck the blacksmith shop
until this morning, and the place was
not thought a perilous one.
The stone whioh brought death when
it struck Tinney, weighs more than
twenty pounds and is six inches across.
A sharp point at one end hit the man
on the head, behind the right ear, mak
ing a ~ound the siz.: of a walnut. A
smaller stone struck Fisher, also oil the
back of the head, leaving a bad bruise.
Henry Tinney, who was killed by the
larger stone, was 60 years old. He had
been out of employment for some time,
and had gone to the quarries with
Fisher in the hope of getting work. He
■leaves a widow and the following chil
dren: Harry, of Hershey, a: conductor
on the lines of the Hershey Rapid
Transit Company; Frank, of West Vir
ginia, a Methodist clergyman; a mar
ried daughter in New Jersey and three
daughters at home, Mattie, Hattie and
Edna.
Fisher's Injury Not Alarming
The body was taken from Swatara
by William Karmany to his undertaking
rooms in Hanover street, this town,
across the street from the Tinney
home.
Coroner Eckinger began an investi
gation this morning at Swatara and
later examined the body. Funeral ar
rangements have not yet been made.
The condition of Fisher is not con
sidered alarming.
POSTSCRIPT
PRICE, ONE CENT.
REPLY MADE
TO 11. S. NOTE
BY 6ERMANY
Protest of America
Against Blockade of
Waters An
swered at Berlin
WILL NOT RECEDE
FROM PURPOSE
The Germans Firmly Maintain Their
Position As Previously Announced
In Paper That Is Couched In the
Most Friendly Terms
By Associated Press.
Berlin, via London, Feb. IS, 3.58 A.
M.—The reply of Germany to the pro
test of the United States against a
blockade of British waters is couched
in the most friendly terms, but firmly
maintains the position of Germany as
already announced. The answer which is
a lengthy document, was converted into
code at the United states embassy un
der the direction of Ambassador Ger
ard and has been transmitted in full to
Washington.
The note explains that Germany's
proposed action is rendered necessary
by Great .Britain's policy of attempt
ing to cut off the food supply for the
German civil population by a method
never recognized in international war.
England'B course in ordering merchant
men to fly neutral tlajzs, equipping them
with artillery with orders to destroy
submarines, the German reply contends,
renders nugatory the right of search
thus giving Germany the right to at
tack Knglish shipping. Germany holds
that she cannot abandon that right un
der the stress which Knglaud has forced
upon her.
Says Stand Is Necessary
Since Germany must compel the na
tious wifh which she is at war to re
turn to the recognized principles of in
ternational law and restore the freedom,
of the seas, she argues that the stand
she h*s*taken is necessary.
The note recommends that the Unit
ed States government send warships to
England to convoy merchant vessels
through the danger zone as security
against attack with the understanding
that vessels thus guarded shall carry
i no war supplies. llo|>e is expressed that
the American government will under
stand the position in which Germany
has been placed and appreciate the rea
sons for its course.
The reply closes with an expression
of the hope that the United States may
prevail upon (>r«at Britain "to return
to the principles of international law
recognized prior to the outbreak of the
war," and in particular obtain the ob
servance of the London declaration by
belligerents o.p|*>sed to Germany. If is
were ctone, the note explains, Germany
would ®be enabled to import food sup
plies and raw materials. Germany would
.recognize in this, says the reply, an in
valuable service toward a more humane
conduct of the war and would act in
accordance with the new situation thus
create-d.
Text of the German Reply
The text of the German govern
ment's reply to the American note fol
lows:
"The imperial government has ex
amined the communication from the
United States in the same spirit of
good will and friendship by which tho
communication appears to have been
dictated. The imperial government is
in accord with the United States gov
ernment that for both parties it is in
a high degree desirable to avoid mis
understandings which might arise from
measures announced by the German
Admiralty and to provide against the
Continued on Seventh Pace
SITUATION NOT CRITICAL IN
OPINION OFUA OFFICIALS
Washington, Feb. 18.—Germany's
reply to the American note on the naval
war zone around the British Isles had
not been received to-day at the State
Department. Dispatches on other mat
ters from Ambassador Gerard, filed in
Berlin yesterday, said he had delivered
the American note but that the German
roply had not then been delivered to
him. The outline of the German reply
contained in news dispatches, however,
commanded close attention in official
and diplomatic quarters but comments
were being reserved until after the text
has been received.
Secretary Bryan went early to the
White House for a conference with
President Wilson. They discussed neu
tral shipping generally. Tho official
view was that no element in the situa
tion was critical.
WALL STREET CLOSING
By Associated Press.
New York, Feb. 18. —Union Pacific,
Steel and Amalgamated were sold mod
erately in the late dealings. The clos
ing was heavy. To-day's narrow and
drooping stock market was again large
ly influenced by adverse foreign condi
tions. Minor declines were general.