The Sentinel=record., 1915-05-09


 son. upon whom the eyes of the world are foedssad a, the present moment. e'xSSed in quiet. seclusion today the s/pects of law and fact in accordance with the sinking by a German tor 2edo of the British liner Lusitania with consequent loss of many American lives
 The great human tragedy, coupled with the responsibilities of the hour, caused the president to deny himself to all cd!els even to members of his oflioiai family, while he turned over in lis mlnd the course to be pursued by 'ue United States government in one of the most serious crises in it's history.
 ihe Cnly glimpse or the workings O the p'eslcents mind was given whcr the wEito house tonight issued its first fclmal comment on the dis. aste" The announcement was made that the president realized the couu- try expected him to deal with the sit nation with de1tboration as well as .l4i 4iirtat 4rat .iftta-s5'' ..ftt B..
 The first firG, , cor.~ lt fror he white house on the sinking of the Lusitania was issued tonight in the following statement
 After a conference with the presi- dent at the white house this evening Secretary Tumulty said:
 "Of course the president feels 5he distress and the gravity of the situa- tion 10 the utmost and is considering very earnestly but very calmly the right course of action to pursue. He knows tho @ people of the country wish and expect him 10 act with de- liberation as well as with firmness."
 The official data upon which formal acton will he based has not arrived The president therefore did not com muuicate with Secretary Bryan or Of. f;C als of the state department. Nor da he consult members of the cabi- ne- or congress.
 Itf having been giving such close personal attention in the last few weeks to the particular questions in. volved, that he was thought to be de- trmined first to sift for himself the various questions and shape policy to o1 submitted to the cabinet prob. ably Monday or Tuesday.
 In the meantime public opinion was expected to crystallize and help point the way. .iembers of the cabinet can. celled other engagements and held themselves in readiness for the presi, dents call. At the state dcrartment, when Secretary Bryan was asked if| there was any advice 10 communicate to the American people at this time. he replied that he did not think this was needed for the country under stood the situation.
 This is no time to rock the boat. he said.
 1t was the same sentiment which Chairman Stone of the senate foreien relations committee had expressed earlier in the day. The single phrase expressed tne desire of the Washine ton administration that prejudice and passions be not thrust into the un- stable equilibrium, while the govern ment endeayored to learn all the de- tails.
 One important fact was definitely 2scertained by the Washington gov ernment today from the port authori- ties at New York who gave clearance 70 the Lusitania-that she carried no guns either mounted or unmounted.
 This disposed in the minds of off cals the claim that the German sub marine mad a right to attack the Lusitania because she was an aux i'iary or a converted cruiser Officials of the Cunard line are understood to have stated that the Lusitania was not conveyed.
 These facts in the opinion of law officers of the American government. left the German submarine no excuse under law or reason for an attack without warning on a ship with hun dreds of non-combatants aboard. in- cluding neutral men, women and chil. dren.
 The position of the United States