that might cause embarrassment in American-German relations; Dudley Field Malone, Collector of the Port of New York, announces that he has evidence of a widespread conspiracy to violate President Wilson’s neutrality proclamation through the establishment here of an agency to supply the British warships lying outside the three-mile zone with food and fuel; he asks the Government for additional warships to protect the harbor’s neutrality.

April 6—­An official message from Berlin is issued by the German Embassy at Washington giving an intimation that Germany would not regard with favor the idea of paying damages for the death of Leon Chester Thrasher; the statement says that neutrals were warned not to cross the war zone; the German Embassy gives out a statement on the stopping of the German merchant ship Odenwald, halted by a shot across her bows when she was attempting to leave San Juan, Porto Rico, without clearance papers, on March 22; statement refers to the episode as an “attack,” and says “a sharp fire” was opened, but the American official report shows that only warning shots were fired.

April 7—­British Government denies Collector Malone’s charge that British warships have been receiving supplies from ports of the United States in violation of neutrality; acting upon a request of the German Ambassador, the Government is making a new investigation of the Odenwald case.

April 8—­Secretary Bryan makes public the reply of the German Government to the American claim for compensation for the loss of the William P. Frye; Germany is willing to pay both for ship and cargo, basing this readiness wholly on treaties of 1799 and 1828 between the United States and Prussia, but under international law justifying the destruction of both ship and cargo; Collector Malone says investigation shows that charges that supplies have been sent to British warships from New York in violation of neutrality were part of a plot to involve this country in trouble with England.

April 11—­Count von Bernstorff, the German Ambassador, makes public a memorandum addressed to the United States Government and delivered several days ago, charging in effect that the United States is violating the true spirit of neutrality by permitting vast quantities of arms to be shipped to England, France, and Russia, and characterizing as a failure the diplomatic efforts of the United States to effect shipment of food supplies to Germany; the memorandum intimates that the United States maintained a true spirit of neutrality to Mexico in placing an embargo on arms exports to Huerta and Carranza, and quotes a statement attributed to President Wilson on the Mexican situation.

April 13—­The Government War Risk Insurance Bureau settles its first claim for losses by paying $401,000 to the owners of the American steamer Evelyn, sunk off the coast of Holland, supposedly by a mine, on Feb. 21; London reports that negotiations are under way for a short-term loan of $100,000,000 to England by American interests.