on squarely faced the
fact that the two countries were officially not on speaking terms;
they were on the dangerous ground of open enmity, when the least
provocation would be as a spark to a powder magazine. Sparks there
were in plenty; but the explosion waited. President Wilson guarded the
magazine. He waited an "overt act" before giving up his vigil and
letting events take their course.

Germany began her announced ruthless submarine warfare against neutral
shipping with caution. Apparently she was loath to precipitate matters
by acting in the letter and spirit of the new decree which warned that
any neutral vessel found in the new danger zone "perished." On
February 3, 1917, when the decree was in operation, one of her
submarines encountered an American freighter, the _Housatonic_, off
the Scilly Isles, which came within the proscribed area. It sank her,
but first gave warning, permitted the crew to take to the boats, and
actually towed the boats ninety miles toward land. A British patrol
vessel then appeared; the submarine fired a signal to attract its
attention and vanished under water, leaving the patrol vessel to
rescue the _Housatonic's_ crew. According to the new order given the
submarines the _Housatonic_ ought to have been sunk without warning.

This unwonted chivalry looked promising; but it was deemed to be
merely an act of grace extended to neutral vessels on the high seas
which had left their home ports before the date (February 1, 1917)
when the new policy of ruthlessness went into effect. It was not
repeated.

No such shrift was accorded British vessels, whether Americans were on
board them or not. About the same time the merchantman _Eavestone_ was
sunk by a submarine, which also shelled the crew as they took to the
boats. The captain and three seamen--one an American--were killed by
the gunfire. This action was debated as an "overt act," but apparently
the Administration did not regard isolated fatalities of this
character as providing ground for a _casus belli_.

What came nearer to a flagrant violation of the _Sussex_ agreement was
the destruction by submarine torpedoes of the Anchor passenger liner
_California_ without warning off the Irish coast with 230 persons on
board. The vessel sailed from New York for Glasgow on January 28,
1917, and its crew and passengers included a sprinkling of Americans.
There were no American casualties; but attacks on passenger liners
without warning, regardless