g of the German undertaking to the United States
following the sinking of the _Sussex_ on March 24, 1916, without
warning. He reminded Congress that on the April 18 following the
Administration informed the German Government that unless it "should
now immediately declare and effect an abandonment of its present
methods of submarine warfare against passenger and freight-carrying
vessels, the Government of the United States can have no choice but to
sever diplomatic relations with the German Empire altogether." The
German Government consented to do so with reservations. These the
United States brushed aside, and committed Germany to the plain pledge
that no ships should be sunk without warning unless they attempted to
escape or offered resistance. In view of Germany's new declaration
deliberately withdrawing her solemn assurance without prior
intimation, the President told Congress that the Government had no
alternative consistent with the dignity and honor of the United States
but to hand Count von Bernstorff, the German Ambassador, his
passports, and to recall Ambassador Gerard from Berlin. But the
President refused to believe that the German authorities intended to
carry out the decree.

"I cannot bring myself to believe," he said, "that they will indeed
pay no regard to the ancient friendship between their people and our
own or to the solemn obligations which have been exchanged between
them and destroy American ships and take the lives of American
citizens in the willful prosecution of the ruthless naval program they
have announced their intention to adopt. Only actual overt acts on
their part can make me believe it even now."

But in the event of such overt acts the duty of the United States was
clear:

"If this inveterate confidence on my part in the sobriety and prudent
foresight of their purpose should unhappily prove unfounded, if
American ships and American lives should in fact be sacrificed by
their naval commanders in a heedless contravention of the just and
reasonable understanding of international law and the obvious dictates
of humanity, I shall take the liberty of coming again before the
Congress to ask that authority be given me to use any means that may
be necessary for the protection of our seamen and our people in the
prosecution of their peaceful and legitimate errands on the high seas.
I can do nothing less. I take it for granted that all neutral
governments will take the same course."

Should