ublic.
The note of protest had been presented on December 29. It dealt with the
manner in which American ships suspected of carrying contraband of
war had been held up on the high seas and sent into British ports for
examination. Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign secretary, and Walter
Hines Page, United States ambassador, conferred on the subject in
London, and it was announced on January 1, 1915, that an answer to the
American note would be drawn up as soon as possible and that it would be
in the same friendly spirit in which the American note was written.

ON THE WESTERN BATTLE FRONT

The battle lines in the western theater of war held firm and fast during
the first two months of 1915. Along the entire front, from Flanders to
the Swiss frontier, there were few changes in the relative positions of
the German forces and the Allies up to March 1, at which time both
sides were occupied with preparations for the spring campaign. British
reinforcements, forming part of Lord Kitchener's new army, were being
transported to the front, while the far-flung lines of trenches were
filled with battle-weary veterans of the winter campaign. In many places
the entrenchments of the opposing forces were only a few yards apart and
trenches were frequently destroyed by mines, resulting in losses to
both sides, but without materially changing the general aspect of the
conflict.

NAVAL BATTLE IN THE NORTH SEA

One of the most important naval battles of the war took place on January
24 in the North Sea between a British battle cruiser squadron under
Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty, comprising the battle cruisers Tiger,
Lion, Princess Royal, New Zealand and Indomitable, assisted by a few
light cruisers and destroyers, on the one hand, and on the other a
German squadron, consisting of the battle cruisers Derflinger, Seydlitz
and Moltke, the armored cruiser Bluecher, one of the finest in the
Kaiser's navy, and several light cruisers.

It was a running fight, covering over one hundred miles and lasting four
hours. At the end of this time the German armored cruiser Bluecher was
at the bottom of the sea and two of the German battle cruisers had been
damaged. Two of Vice-Admiral Beatty's ships were seriously damaged,
namely, the giant battle cruiser Lion, which was Sir David's flagship,
and the torpedo boat destroyer Meteor, one of the largest and fastest of
this class afloat. However, both of these vessels were safely towed
into port. The l