rench and British.

Regarding the sketch made by the German submarine commander of the
steamer which he said he torpedoed, showing that it did not agree with
a photograph of the _Sussex_ as published, the American statement made
this comment:

This sketch was apparently made from memory of an observation of the
vessel through a periscope. As the only differences noted by the
commander, who relied on his memory, were the position of the
smokestack and the shape of the stern, it is to be presumed the
vessels were similar in other respects.

This conclusion was the more certain because no other German
submarines, on the day the _Sussex_ was wrecked, attacked steamers in
the same locality. Hence, in the American views, "as no vessel is
reported to have been torpedoed without warning by a submerged
submarine other than the _Sussex_, it is beyond question that that
vessel was torpedoed by the submarine whose commander's report is
relied upon in the note of April 10, 1916."

The United States had spoken its last word. No attempt was made to
disguise the gravity of the situation, and there was a quiet
recognition of the fact that the continuance of friendly relations
rested wholly on the action of the German Government. Just now,
however, political conditions in Germany were believed to be such that
the Government itself, even if it desired to give full satisfaction in
word and deed to the United States, would be facing a problem in
finding a way of doing so. The Imperial Chancellor, Dr.
Bethmann-Hollweg, representing the civilian part of the federated
government, had so far succeeded in holding the concessions to the
United States. But the military element, including the naval and
submarine advocates of a continued campaign of "frightfulness," headed
until recently by Grand Admiral von Tirpitz, had nevertheless pursued
its course of ruthless destruction, either with the reluctant and
tacit consent of the chancellor or in spite of his opposition. There
thus existed a fundamental cleavage of policy between these two
factions of the German Government. The chancellor made pledges to the
United States and the naval authorities disregarded them, the kaiser
apparently being helpless or lukewarm in his support of the
chancellor's commitments. Presently, however, when Admiral von
Tirpitz's retirement was announced, the civilian element appeared in
the ascendant. His resignation smote the German people with the
startling effect of