File No. 763.72/1992B
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Germany (Gerard)
[Telegram]
Washington,
July 19, 1915, 3 p. m.
1968. Your 2586, July 15, 7 p. m.1 Have indicated to you unwillingness of this Government to enter into any modus vivendi. It is entirely a question of principle which does not admit of compromise, since that would affect the freedom of American citizens to traverse the high seas to which they are entitled as a matter of right. In your conversations with Foreign Office avoid giving hope that your Government might consider any form of compromise.
Lansing