Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-11-02
Washing

- the word came that Germany was
to turn mad dog" again and sink
all ships going within her war zone.
This was the question, OF course,
taken up at the meeting of the cabi-
net on February .. The President
opened by saying that this notice was
an astounding surprise" He had re-
ceiyed no intimation of such rever-
sal Of policy. Indeed. zimmerman,
the German minister Of foreign
affairs. had within ten days told
Girard that such thing was an inn
possibility At this point Lansing
said that he had good reason to be-
lieve that Bernstorff had the note for
fully ten days before delivering it
and had held it off because of the
Presidents peace message to Con-
gress, which had made it seem IN
advisable to deliver it then. In an
swer to 4 question as to which side
he wished to see win. the President
said that he didn't wish to see either
side win. for both had been equally
indifferent TO the rights OF neutrais,
though Germany had been brutal in
taking life and England only in TAX
ing property. He would like TO See
the neutrals unite. I ventured the
expression that to ask them TO do
this would be idle. as they could not
afford to join with us If 1t meant the
insistence on their rights to the point
of war He though, we might CO.
ordinate the neutral forces, but was
persuaded that an effort TO 90 TINS
publicly. as he proposed. would put
some of the small powers in DELI
cate position. We talked the world
situation over. spoke of the like!i-
hood of a German Russian japanese
alliance as the natural thing at the
end of the war, because they all were
nearly in the same stage OF develop
men,. He thought the Russian peas
ant might save the world this mis-
fortune. The fact that Russia had
been. but L short time since, on the
verge of an independent peace with
Germany was brought out as evil
dencing the possibility of break on
the allies side. His conclusion was
that nothing should be done now,
awaiting the covert act by Germany.
-
ask for power
AT the next meeting of the cabinet.
or February s, the main question dis
cussed was whetherwe should con-
WOW or arm our merchant ships. Sec
retary Baker said that unless we did
our ships would stay in American
ports. and thus Germany would have
us effectively locked up by her threat.
The st. Louis of the American lihe
wanted to go out with mail, but
asked the right to arm and the use
of guns and gunners. After long
discussion the decision of the Pres:-
dent was that we should not CONVOY
because that made double hazard
this being the report OF the Navy
but that ships should be told that
they Nigh, arm. but that without new
mower from Congress they should not
be furnished with guns and gunners
The President said that he was
ma ssionately" determined not to
oyerstep the slightest punctilio of
honor in dealing with Germany. or
informed Germans, or the property of
the Germans. He would not take the
informed ships, not even though they
were being Quilted of their machinery.
He wished an announcement made
that all property of Germans would
be held inviolate and that interned
sailors on merchant ships could enter
the United States. If We are to have
war. we must go in with our hands
clean and without any basis for criti-
c;sm against US. The fact that before
Eernstorff gave the note telling Of
The new warfare the ships had been
dismantled as to their machinery was