The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-30

no - PS@DSN
President. Gerard and my
self since we last met"
On the 10Th of May, Am
basSador Gerard put the
German reply to the LuSi-
tania note upon the cables.
1t was simply a rebuttal Of
our argument and a play
for time.
On the next day, Sunday,
May 80, Col. House noted in
his diary:
Il have concluded that
war with Germany is inev-
liable, and this afternoon
at 6 o'clock | decided to go
home on the S. S, st. Paul
on Saturday.
He was going, he told
Plunkett, Ito persuade the
President not to conduct a
milk-and-water war, but TO
put all the strength, all the viril-
ity and all the energy of our ma
ton into it
But war depended on the Ger
mans; and as a matter of fact it
was not until the day after the
colonel had decided it to be in
evitable" that the responsible Ger
man authorities even brought
themselves to face their problem.
Already it was confused in the
three-cornered feud in progress
between the army, the navy and
the foreign office. The nation
had naturally hailed the Lusitania
sinking as a brilliant success. The
sailors, of course, were all against
surrender. Why waste time with
the United States?
The Germans, like Col. House,
know that we were already in eff
feet a partner of the Entente. and
many readily convinced them
selves that an American declara-
ton of war would mean little.
But the chancellor and the
foreign office wavered. and when
on May 81 the kaiser finally sum-
moned a general council on the
subject at his G. H. @. at Pless.
Falkenhayn, speaking for the
army command, agreed with the
civilians. The submarines were
not, he felt. achieving results COM
menSurate with the risk.
IN Washington on the following
Il day much the same sort of
thing was happening. At his Cab
met meeting. Mr. Wilson pre-
scented the draft of a second note
strenuous, but not too strenu-
Gus.
The belligerent Garrison was
frank enough to call for a flat yes
or-no demand upon Germany.
Some one said that if there was
to be strong note to Germany
there should be an equally power
full protest against the British
trade restrictions, but several rose
in outrage at this suggestion that
a mere question of commerce
should be considered at the same
moment when we were discussing
a grave question of human lives" "
After the meeting, Mr.. Bryan
told Mr.. Wilson that he could not
sign his second note. Perhaps it
checked the imperious President.
On June 2, Count BernStorff
gained a personal interview with
him. There was a long converse
ton.
The ambassador found the
President animated solely by a
desire to preserve peace" and pri-
vately concluded that Mr.. Wilson
would never actually fight of his
own motion, but that the country
might force him into it.
Mr.. Bryan. who had taken an
immense pride and satisfaction in
his great Office. concluded that his
usefulness as Secretary of State
was at an end. He must resign.
TT was a bombShell. The PreSi-
l. dent realized at once that it
would tend to undermine the
whole theory that the Administra-
TONS policy was purely pacific
one.
1t would create a mistaken"
impression that we were forcing
the issue. What the President did
not see was that Mr.. Bryan was
essentially right. A sudden check
had come which might have led
Mr.. Wilson to re-eXamine more
carefully the precise basis of his
own action. Instead he merely
OVERRIDE it; his advisers told him
that the public would probably
side against Mr.. Bryan, and the
President let him go.
On Monday, June s, the resigna =
ton was announced to the Cab
met.
His resignation was denounced
as a diSloyal, traitorous act by
many newspapers and public
speakers. Thanks to the passion
ate newspapers, Mr., BryanS heavy
sacrifice for his conscience was to
be of no effect.
WET it did not come to war
i not then. What really saved
Mr. Wilson (and destroyed Mr.
Bryan in the summer Of 1915
was neither the strength nor the
astuteness of our diplomacy. 1t
was the limited capacity of the
German 6ockyards - factor
which our diplomatists had scarce
even considered.
When the submarine campaign
was launched in February the
Germans had but Is completed u
boats and only IL more under con-
Struction.