The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-02-08
NEAR BREAK WITH.
CENTRAL POWERS
GERMANY'S UNDER-SEA POLICY
HAS CAUSED WILSON TO SEW.
Err FRIENDLY RELATIONS
GERMAN MINISTER HANDED PASSPORTS
Peace Hangs on One overt Act on
Part of Germany-Feeling is
Tense Everywhere

That we are on the verge of war with
Germany goes without saying. Satur-
day President Wilson handed Count
von Bernstorff, the German minister,
his passports and recalled Ambassador
Gerard from Germany. He then went
before congress and made the brief ad.
dress, which is featured in another
column of the Register, in which he
asked for power to meet the situation
in event of war.
Since that moment events have been
moving fast. The government is work
ing day and night on war preparations.
Every available ship is being armed
and manned, absent sailors and SOL
diers have been ordered to the colors,
all eastern militia regiments have been
called out, soldiers on the border are
held ready to be rushed east at a mo-
ment's notice, factories and s%hipyards
have been put on a war basis and many
ports have been closel. No chances
are being taken while the government
marks time and awaits Germany's next
move. All Americans are hoping that
war may no come, but leading men
everywhere feel that the break must
come and that the most critical period
in the nations history is upon us. The
question of war is up to Germany. If
she persists in her under-sea course
and strikes down American lives she
will bring the United States into war
against her.
The events which have led up to the
present crisis are of Germany's max
ing. The feature of the submarine
controversy in 1914-15 was the sinking
of the Lusitania and President Will
sons strict accountability note, and
the negotiations which followed. 1t
was in 1916 that, though the incidents
themselves were not of such magni-
tude, the controversy gradually APP
preached the crisis which reached a
climax this week. The diplomatic
phases of those incidents are as fol-
lows:
January Formal advice was re-
ceived at Washington from the Ger
man ambassador that submarine war
fare had been and would be conducted
according to international law.
January S.-Germany replied to the
American note on the Frye case that
vessels would be sunk only when car
rying absolute %contraband of war and
in a manner that passengers and crew
could safely reach port.
January 1S.-Germany denied that
her submarines were responsible for
the sinking of the steamship Persia.
February 1.-Secretary Lansing an
nounced the receipt of a dispatch from
Ambassador Penfeld that he had been
informed that no Austrian submarine
was concerned in the sinking of the
Persia.
February 10.-Germany and Austria
announced that after February 20 they
would treat armed merchant vessels of
enemy countries as warships.
February 1.-THE Germans told Mr..
Won Wiegand of the New World that
Germany would keep her promises to
the United States respecting sub
marine warfare by warning unarmed
shipping before attacking.
February 15.-A conference between
Secretary Lansing and Ambassador
Won Bernstorff resulted in an under
standing that Germany would "recos-
nize" instead of assume" responsible
ity for the sinking of the Lusitania.
March .1.-Austro-German classified
ton of armed enemy merchantmen as
warships became effective.
March 3.-The senate tabled the
Gore resolution that "the sinking by a
submarine, without warning. of an
armed merchant vessel resulting in the
death of a citizen of the United States,
would constitute a just and sufficient
cause of war between the United
States and the German empire"
March 22.-The transatlantic liner
Minneapolis was torpedoed by a sub
marine in the Mediterranean sea.
March 24.-The state department re-
ceived the refusal Of the entente pow
ers to accept Secretary Lansing's plan
for the regulation Of submarine at
tacks against merchantmen and the
prevention of arming merchant ves-