Rogers was in Europe on his fellowship at the start of the First World War. Reading French, German and Italian newspapers imbued Rogers with a certain neutrality. The sinking of the "Lusitania" changed that. On 12 May 1915, he wrote to his mother that, prior to the "Lusitania", "... hearing the Germans so unjustly run down in French Switzerland, I got in the habit of putting in a word for them now and then". After the "Lusitania", he wrote, "I think I have spoken my last word in their favor." He also had his first taste of the mob. Witnessing demonstrations in Rome "knocked the last spark of Socialism out of my soul and with it most of my respect for the labor unions".