763.72/1758a
The Secretary of State to President Wilson
My Dear Mr. President: I am sending you a letter from Mr. Lansing.65 You will notice that he cannot possibly prepare the note to Great Britain before Monday. At my request he prepared a notice such as we discussed, warning passengers against taking these ships pending negotiations. He is doubtful about the wisdom of issuing the notice, fearing that it may raise the question as to why we did not issue an earlier notice. While this question may be asked, I think it is better for us to have the question asked and answered, rather than run the risk of any more attacks. I believe that the issuance of such a notice would not only be likely to protect the lives of some Americans and thus lessen the chances of another calamity, but would have its effect upon the tone of the German reply and might point the way to an understanding. At least it would probably prevent anything like a summary dismissal of our protest. I beg to submit the idea for your consideration and the tentative notice for your criticism in case the idea commends itself to you.
With assurances [etc.]
- Supra.↩