The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-05-19
REPLY MAY BE
CONCILIATORY
Believed Germany viii Try to
Prevent Break.
EXPECT TO ASK ARBITRATION
Germany, IT Is Thought, VIII Aban-
don Submarine Attacks on Shipping
Only If England Will Abandon Its
Policy of Starvation

TShCI 0ldt NdLiO0s-
Washington, May 17.-If Berlin &C.
cepts the views held by influential
Germans in this country it is
certain that the German governments s
reply to President Wilson's note about
the submarine operations will be CON
ciliatory and persuasive in tone, and
will contain several suggestions cal
culated from the German point OF
view to avert all danger of a break
between the imperial government and
the United States.
Germans here refuse to see in the
presidents note any castigation OF
the German government at which
they should take offense, and are de
voting themselves entirely to formu.
lating such arguments as can be
brought to bear in support of the
German submarine operations, which
resulted in the Lusitania disaster, In
way which they hope likely to ap-
peal to the American public mind.
That is, they are refusing to indulge
themselves in the temptation to get
angry about the matter, and instead
80 OA0OofOAAh " P1 OoC1AI Way6 IL
which they hope it can be smoothed
over.
The views held in Berlin regarding
the United States's position on the
submarine operations are not definite
ly known here, but certainly the most
interesting phase of the situation as
1t exists in Washington is the effort
being made in German quarters to
bring about an entirely amicable ad-
justment.
These activities are regarded here
as evidence that Germans in this
country, at least, recognize the seri-
GUS possibilities of the situation, and
are not willing that the two govern
ments should break with each other
If there is any way to prevent it..
Evidences Of this attitude are found
in the self-imposed official silence OF
the German ambassador, the decf-
sion of DR.. Dernburg to eliminate
himself from the situation, and most
important, the private spreading of
the German view in such quarters az
are regarded as likely to afford the
easiest channel of communication to
the American public. It is reported
that the German embassy has even
gone to the length of advising the
German-American press IN this coun-
try to be moderate in its discussion
OF the submarine views. The Ger
man ambassador denies that any such
instructions have been issued by the
embassy, but nevertheless there is
20
titude Of the embassy in this regard
will soon enough find its reflection in
the German-American newspapers.
From the discussions that have
been going forward here, 1t now ap-
pears clear, the main idea of Germans
in this country is that the Berlin gov
ernment should take care of the
Lusitania matter by proposing arbi-
tration, and then dispose of the gem
efal question of submarine operations
by requiring the United States to re-
new its efforts to get Great Britain
to abandon its starvation" policy in
return for an abandonment of the
German submarine program. If they
accomplish this they probably would
have accomplished all they expected
from their submarine program, any
how.
The best German thought in this
country has been concentrated on
these questions for nearly a week now
and it may be said positively that
their views already have been COM
municated to Berlin in one way or
another. For this reason there is a
disposition here to accord some i'm
portance to them, for it is argued
that unless the German government
actually wishes break with the Uni
ted States it will accept the advice of
Germans who are closely in touch
with American public opinion and the
attitude of the administration in
Washington.