111.33/98b
The Secretary of State to Colonel E. M. House
My Dear Colonel House:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
You will have seen in the papers the general statement that Mr. Polk had been offered the position of Counsellor for the Department. How this became public I cannot imagine, and I was afraid it might embarrass Mr. Polk with Mayor Mitchel,47a who desired the matter to be kept secret for the present. As you doubtless know Mr. Polk has accepted the appointment and I am now only awaiting the assent of Mayor Mitchel to announce formally the appointment.
The German situation is much more favorable than it has been. There is a decided tendency on the part of the German Government to reach an amicable settlement. Of course we shall recede in no way from our position in regard to warnings, and provision for the safety of passengers and crews on vessels torpedoed. There is evidently a controversy between the Foreign Office and the Admiralty in Berlin. The attitude of the Foreign Office is one of [compliance with] our demands. Whether von Jagow, who is supported by the Chancellor, can succeed over the influence exerted by von Tirpitz and the Emperor is still in doubt, but the prospects seem good.
I will write you in regard to the Mexican situation in a few days, when I think that we will know more about it than we do at present.
With warm regards [etc.]
- Mayor of New York City.↩