Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-05
Accumulation Of Evidence.

| Finally, the accumulation of evidence
reached such proportions with the de-
struction of the Sussex that President
Wilson, convinced that assurances CIV
en- in the Lusitania and Arabic cases
were being violated, dispatched another
note to Germany and went before Con-
! gress, reviewed the entire situation
from the beginning and made this
declaration:
| II have deemed it my duty to say to
the imperial German government that
| II 1t is still it's purpose to prosecute
relentless and indiscriminate warfare,
the government of the United States
| is at last forced to the conclusion that
| there is but one course II can pursue;
and that, unless the imperial German
! government should now, Immediately,
declare and effect abandonment Of
| it's present methods of warfare against
| passenger and freight carrying ves-
sells, this government can have no
choice but to sever diplomatic relations
altogether"
| 1t will be noted that the President
went further than liners and said
! passenger and freight carrying ves-
sels.''
| The wording of the note to Germany
was almost identical with the forego-
Ing passage.
campaign the last note declared:
NO limit of any kind has in fact
been set to the indiscriminate pursuit
and destruction Of merchantmen of all
kinds and natlonalities within the
waters constantly extending in area
where these operations have been car
| ried on, and the roll of Americans who
| have lost their lives on ships thus at
| tackled and destroyed has grown
| month by month until the ominous toll
| has mounted into the hundreds.
| Again and again the imperial Ger
man government has given this gov
eminent it's solemn assurances that at
| least passenger ships would not be
| thus dealt with, and yet 1t has again
| and again permitted its undersea
| commanders to disregard those assur-
ances with entire impunity.
Internal Embarrassments.
!, The President dispatched the note on
the night Of April Is and addressed Con-
gress the following day. Since then the
German reply has been awaited.
| The internal entertainments which
| have confronted the President in his con-
duct Of the negotiations have been no less
serious than the attitude OF Germany.
| The most spectacular incident was an
warning Americans off armed ships. and
| the movement so impressed the Berlin
government with conviction that the
| President was speaking without the whole
| support Of Congress and the country that
he was forced to muster all the strength
| of his administration to compel Congress
! to bring the resolutions to a vote and de-
| feat them decisively before the negotia-
| tons with Germany could go on.
| During all the negotiations the Ber-
lin foreign office has looked to Count
Won Bernstorff to prevent a break. His
| attitude has been represented as pro-
pitiatory from the viewpoint of the
United States and opposed to the sub
! marine warfare of Won Tirpitz. On sew
| eral occasions he is said to have warm
| ed his emperor personally that con-
| tnuance Of the warfare against which
| the United States protested would sure
| ly lead to break. Meanwhile. the am
| bassador's own position has been en-
| barrassed by the operations of German
| sympathizers in the United States plot
| ting against American neutrality. Some
| of these operations were traced direct
| ly to the military and naval attaches of
| the embassy. who were withdrawn. The
| administration has not admitted that
| they were traced to the ambassador
| himself.