New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-01

one hundred Americans-men, WON
en- and children-were massacred.
The Germans had previously killed
an American citizen on the Falaba.
Our State Department prudently
ignored that slap in the face. But
when the country was stirred to a
white heat of wrath by the Lusitania
horror Mr.. Wilson felt obliged to
make some show Of living up to the
sweeping "strict accountability"
pledge Of February 10.
He wrote a note 10 Germany full
Of rhetorical protestations. But just
before making its text public he said
at a public meeting in Philadelphia
that there was such thing as a ma
ton being "too proud TO fight"
The day after the Lusitania was
sunk Mr.. Wilson might have re-
deemed the situation a little by call
ing an extra session of Congress and
demanding an immediate reorganiza-
ton Of the army and vast credit
for the navy. But he trusted instead
TO bluffing the American people by
making diplomatic demands on Ger
many which he never intended to
enforce.
Germany naturally treated these
demands with contempt. She went
en- sinking unarmed merchantmen
and taking American lives. After
the Arabic incident she made a
grudging concession exenpting pas
senger liners from attack without
warning. But this concession was
not lived up to. More American lives
were taken. Finally, nearly year
after the Lusitania Massacre, she
agreed to exempt freighters also
from attack without warning.
But to-day, nearly eighteen months
after the Lusitania was torpedoed
and nearly twenty-one months after
the "strict accountability" note was
sent, that note still remains a dead
letter. Scores Of Americans who
trusted to its guarantees have lost
their lives and hundreds more have
been put in deadly peril. Germany
still refuses to disavow the act Of
the submarine commander who tor
pedoed the Lusitania and no repara-
ton whatever has been made so far
for the hideous crime of which so
many Americans were the helpless
victims.
Much has been said in the last few
days about an assurance which Mr..
Wilson was about to give to the Ger
man government that the demands
for disavowal and reparation in the
Lusitania case were not to be taken
seriously. The dispute raised by the
letters which Senator Lodge has
made public concerns technical de-
tails. Mr.. Wilson may never have
approved, and then disapproved, an
addendum to the second Lusitania
note mot the frst) looking to an
avoidance Of any clash with Ger
many over the American demands.
That particular charge may be tech
nically denied.
But what most people in Washing
ton have known for nearly a year
and a half is that Mr.. Bryan was
extremely insistent that Germany
should be invited TO accede to a no
war-inside-of-a-year compact, such
as the United States had concluded
with Great Britain, France, Italy
and other powers. Acceptance by
Germany of that invitation would
have made a break over the Lusi-
tania Massacre impossible for at
least twelve months. And in secur-
ing that result Mr.. Bryan felt sure
that he would be Serving humanity"
Mr. Bryan was an honest advocate
of peace at any price. He was will
ing to barter for it in the open and
to pay for it with almost any sur
render in the way of broken pledges
and national grovelling. Mr.. Wilson
wanted to keep up the appearance of
protecting American rights, while
taking no physical risks in the way
of protecting them.
Whether at the time the second
Lusitania note was written he APP
proved Mr.. Bryan's proposition to
make a peace compact with Germany
and thus stave off a clash for a year,
and then turned around and disap-
proved it, the fact remains that the
President has acted throughout the
Lusitania controversy in practical
accordance with the spirit of Mr..
Bryan's suggestion. lie has pre-
vented a break with Germany only
by abandoning the declarations of
the note Of February 10. He has
rot held the German government TO
"strict accountability" for the Lusi-