Evening journal., 1915-09-23

their words, they would avoid all dan
ger. And every pro-German agent in
Washingtc knew that the "strict ac-
countability" note was a bluff I'D that
the administration was taking no steps
to back up its words, if necessary.
Then Germany sunk the Lusitania.
She rightly gauged the weakness that
was behind the words of the President
Had the President meant the words
there was no course left TO him but
having allowed Germany her chance
! to disavow, to break off relations.
/ "Strict accountability" was the last
word that could be spoken; It was the
/ extreme of language to express the
/ idea that II meant to express. if it
] meant to express anything. But Mr..
i Wilson did not think of breaking off I:
he thought of getting out of the scrape
without war.
For now there descended VI on him
all the politicians. spurred by the pro-
German propagandists. These inform
ed him that 70 break with Germany
meant not merely political disaster.
/ the loss of the country in 1916. but
internal revolution. Dire prophecies
of German propagandist violence were
brought to him. He was solemnly as
sured by ever increasing mutlitudes
that the country, apart from a thin
slice along the Atlantic seaboard, de-
sired peace at any price.
Never having intended to take
strong action. Mr.. Wilson listened
readily to this warning and began
that long series of weak and wabbling
notes with the omit no word or act
message. Mr.. Bryan evidently. fearing
that Germany and Austria might take
umbrage at this. privately assured the
Austrian ambassador of what was the
truth, that the words were not meant
that the President WIS in a political
hole at home and was trying to get
out. In the same fashion the propa.
gandists all over the country were i'm.
formed that under no circumstances
would there be a break with Germany
But Germany. also being in the
know, saw no reason to interrupt her
attack upon British ships. She had
punctured the bluff OF strict account
ability" note. She had disclosed to
her satisfaction the fact that the ex-
treme of Mr. Wilson's intention in the
direction of protecting American hon.
notes, and Berlin was prepared to put
just as much attractive rhetoric and
appealing moral discourse into notes
as would be necessary to meet Mr.
Wilson's several contributions.
Now, so far as Mr.. Wilson and the
German government were concerned
here was a situation that might have
gone on indefinitely. But there was
] A
ton of the American public had be-
lieved that from the outset Mr.. Wilson
meant to assert and to defend Ameri.
can rights. Many newspapers, of
which The Tribune was one, had raj.
lied to the support OF the administra.
ton in a time of international crisis
because they believed that party lines
should end at the waters edge in
such a time. These newspapers rep
resented a certain fraction of Ameri
can public opinion.
And this fraction of American
opinion viewed with utter amazement
the failure of Mr.. Wilson to make
good his words. They saw with rising
4 Indignation one German incident after
another, which led only to notes. What
was still graver was that other groups
of citizens. who had before paid little
attention to the affair, began to be
lieve that while Mr.. Wilson was pa
tiently trying to persuade the Germans
the Germans were ruthlessly insulting
American officials and brutally muir
dering American citizens.
In a word, as always happens il
such cases, the long protractiol Of in
ternational difficulties began to Great,
. strong anti-German sentiment baseC
on the notion that Germany was de
, liberately affronting the United States
This was not the fact. Germany wal
proceeding on her own way; she wal
not invading American rights more
than those of Holland or Sweden. o.
( any neutral. She was not trying t
make an issue with the United States
But she had been convinced by Mr.
/ Wilson's course that under no circum