in any way shocking the American people. Nothing has come
from Berlin that indicates any feeling of guilt on the part of the
German people or their Government.

"In the United States, on the contrary, the act is regarded as one of
the blackest crimes of history. And yet, in spite of that feeling, we
have waited patiently for ten months in the hope that the German
Government would do justice, and clear its name of reproach. Yet now
we are told that it is Germany that has shown a 'patient attitude,' the
implication or insinuation being that our long suffering administration
has been unreasonable and impatient. That will not be the verdict of
history, as it is not the verdict of our own people. We have made
every allowance for the conditions existing in Germany, and have
resolutely refused to take advantage of her distress. We doubt whether
there is any other government in the world that would have shown the
patience and moderation, under like provocation, that have been shown
by the American Government in these _Lusitania_ negotiations."

I sent the editorial to von Jagow, who returned it the next day with
the brief comment on one of his calling cards: "With many thanks."

About this time Count Reventlow and the other naval writers began to
refer to everything President Wilson did as a "bluff." When Col. E. M.
House came to Berlin early in 1916, he tried to impress the officials
with the fact that Mr. Wilson was not only not bluffing, but that the
American people would support him in whatever he did in dealing with
the German Government. Mr. Gerard tried too to impress the Foreign
Office but because he could only deal with that branch of the
Government, he could not change the Navy's impression, which was that
Wilson would never take a definite stand against Germany. On the 8th
of February, the _London Times_ printed the following despatch which I
had sent to the United States:

"Mr. Gerard has been accused of not being forceful enough in dealing
with the Berlin Foreign Office. In Berlin he has been criticised for
just the opposite. It has been stated frequently that he was too
aggressive. The Ambassador's position was that he must carry out Mr.
Wilson's ideas. So he tried for days and weeks to impress officials
with the seriousness of the situation. At the critical point in the
negotiations various unofficial diplomats began to arrive and they
seriously interfered with negotiations. One of these wa