763.72/1861½
The counselor for the Department of State (Lansing) to the Secretary of State
Dear Mr. Secretary: I am submitting a memorandum89 on the allegations of facts contained in the German note of May 28th. If I had more time, it could be very much abbreviated.
It seems to me that only two of the allegations are relevant to the German defense, namely:
- (1)
- That the Lusitania was armed, and
- (2)
- That the commander of the submarine feared the Lusitania would ram him.
There is no evidence that the German Government had information that the vessel was armed or information sufficient to found a belief to that effect.
As to the second allegation, the danger of the Lusitania, a vessel of over 31000 tons burden, being able to maneuver so as to ram a small swift moving craft like a submarine is too remote to warrant serious consideration. That the commander actually feared being rammed I believe to be false.
The remaining allegations are irrelevant to the defense that the submarine was justified in torpedoing the Lusitania without visiting her and without putting her crew and passengers in a place of safety. If the vessel was laden with war supplies, if she flew a neutral flag, if she had Canadian soldiers on board, and if she violated several laws of the United States as to her cargo, these facts in no way affect the question.
While the memorandum reviews these facts, I think that it would be unwise to controvert or discuss them.
Faithfully yours,
- Not enclosed with file copy of this letter.↩