763.72/2270½
Memorandum by the Secretary of State of an Interview With the German Ambassador (Bernstorff)
The German Ambassador called upon me this afternoon at the Department at my request. I told him that it seemed necessary that the Lusitania case should be settled if possible within a very short time—that the recent sinking of the Ancona, although acknowledged by Austria to have been done by her submarine, had aroused deep feeling in this country; that the peculiar thing was that in spite of the Austrian admission the blame was falling upon Germany as being the dominant power in the Central Alliance.
[Page 491]The Ambassador said that he realized that that was so and that when I had last seen him I told him I would endeavor to have some suggestions which he might consider.
I told him that I had prepared a formula which seemed to me possible and that I had avoided the use of the word—“disavow”—and substituted in its place an acknowledgement of illegality. I then handed him the paper which is hereto annexed.68 He read it through and said that he would submit it to his Government, as he had no authority to go beyond the proposed letter which he had sent me at the time of the settlement of the Arabic case.
We further discussed the general situation in this country in regard to submarine warfare. I told him that I hoped this matter could be settled satisfactorily to this Government before the assembling of Congress, as the present resentment of public opinion in this country might cause a serious situation of affairs if the matter was discussed in Congress; that it was even possible that Congress, with whom the power rested, might declare war. He replied that he appreciated the seriousness of the present situation but that he could do no more than submit the formula to his Government; that he considered the great difficulty lay in the admission of liability for the lives of Americans on a British vessel, which they had denied.
I pointed out to him that in view of the changed policy of the German Government and its return to the recognized rules of warfare in the conduct of its submarine activities it would amount to a practical final settlement of the controversy, and that I earnestly hoped he would be able to accomplish this. I further said to him that I realized the difficulty of the German Government in dealing with public opinion in Germany, but that I thought the time was especially opportune on account of our recent note to Great Britain.69
He answered me that he was in entire accord as to the advantage of urging a settlement at this time, both on account of the note to England, and on account of the approaching assembling of Congress.
He left me with the understanding that he would immediately send the formula to his Government and ask for instructions.
- The formula proposed by the Secretary of State, p. 489.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1915, supp., p. 578.↩