New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-20
deliberately Unfriendly."

unon the Arabic fulfils President Wilson's
definition of an act deliberately unfriend-
W. to the United States.
Since this is the case only one ROAD
remains open to Mr.. Wilson, there is only
one course that he can follow with dignity
and with honor. Without delay, further
protest, any diplomatic exchange whatso-
ever. the German Ambassador in Wash
ington should receive his passports, the
American Ambassador in Berlin should
he recalled.
It is time to have done with nation
which has repudiated every scrap of inter-
national law. 1t is time to have done
with a state which has adopted a policy
which is alike challenge to humanity and
negation of all that civilization means.
When the Germans murdered our men,
women and children on the Lusitania,
when this whole nation stood in dumb
horror beside the seas on which a German
naval officer, to crafty an insensate
hatred and an inhuman lust for killing,
had scattered American women and chill
dren, all helpless and innocent Of all
offence save that they were between
Germany and a purpose, there went up
from one end of the country to the other
a solemn warning.
We chose not to make war to avenge
our Dead we chose not to join in whole
world of killing to punish, as we could,
a nation whose crime against us was I'M
paralleled in civilized history. But in that
hour we resolved that there should be no
more slaughter of Americans.
Patiently, with unexampled restraint,
with unparalleled forbearance, the Presi-
dent Of the United States sought to convey
to German statesmen the emotions of his
countrymen, their determination and their
will. For the dead he asked the small
reparation that could be made; for the
living that guarantee of safety which
was their right.
To all Mr.. Wilson's moderate and meas
ured words there was no response that
faced the fact, answered the question, met
the issue. The responsible ministers OF
Germany, taken red-handed in the pursuit
Of a policy of assassination, did not scru-
ple to fill the air with their pretended
championship of the doctrines of human
ity, while they chung to the purpose to
continue the campaign of massacre.
All that words could do, all that sol
emn, measured, accurate words could dc
20 convey to Germany the American de-
termination was done when the last Amer
lcan note was dispatched. We knew then
that there was no longer hone that Ger
many would give any evidence Of regret
or promise of reparation for crime that
would have been unworthy of N Apache
We knew that our dead were to remain
so far as Germany was concerned, with
out honor and without regret. Still there
did remain. the hope that for the future
Germany policy would in small measure
conform to the methods of civilization.
This hope was vain. The attack upon
the Arabic was still more fragrant than
that upon the Lusitania. There was no am
munition on board which might tempt a
German commander charged with the pro-
lection of those German babies so much
mentioned in German newspapers. There
we're no guns, no shells, no munitions of
war. The ship was empty and outward
bound. There were only few hundred
human beings-helpless, without defence.
There were among them Americans. This
was the target of German craftsmanship,
This was the quarry worthy of the Ger
man officer.
We do not know whether more Ameri-
can lives have been lost or not. But what
difference can this make? II the would-be
murderer misses, if his bullet goes astray,
does society less certainly incarcerate him?
II is not the fault of the German COM
mander that every American on the Arabic
was not drowned. All that the assassin
could do was done. All that the butcher
could do TO make the massacre complete
was done. If chance spared Americans, it