851.857 Su 8/54½
President Wilson to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I have your letter of the twenty-seventh in which you state your preliminary impressions about the Sussex Case. My impressions are not quite the same. The proof that the disaster was caused by a torpedo seems to me by no means satisfactory or conclusive. And, if it was caused by a torpedo, there are many particulars to be considered about the course we should pursue as well as the principle of it. The steps we take and the way we take them will, it seems to me, be of the essence of the matter if we are to keep clearly and indisputably within the lines we have already set ourselves.
But in this, as in other matters referred to in the papers I am now sending back to you, a personal conference is much the best means of reaching conclusions. We must have one very soon.
Faithfully Yours,