seriously interfered with my chosen
policy. As concerning Japan I may, incidentally, remark that Mr.
Hale, when he was acting in collaboration with us in propaganda
work, particularly stipulated that we should not undertake anything
which might inflame the existing antagonism between America and
Japan--a condition which Dr. Dernburg accepted without hesitation,
since both he and his assistant Dr. Fuehr, who knew Japan well,
were decidedly opposed to any such agitation.

In order to avoid misunderstanding, I wish expressly to state that I
do not deny that instructions were sent by Zimmermann, the Secretary
of State, to our Embassy in Mexico, which envisaged co-operation with
that country against the United States as well as an understanding
with Japan, but must point out that this was recommended in the
event--_and only in the event_--of the United States declaring
war on us.

I shall return to these instructions later, only remarking here
that it was my duty to pass them on to von Eckhardt.

It should further be noted that the design, frequently imputed
to us in earlier days, of endeavoring to stir up a negro rising
in the United States was also omitted from Mr. Bielaski's list.
To the request of a Senator of a Southern State for his opinion
on this point, he replied without hesitation that no efforts in
this direction had been made by any of the official representatives
of Germany.

It is noteworthy, moreover, that this agent of the Department of
Justice, who had heretofore consistently held us guilty of promoting
strikes in munition factories and sabotage of all kinds, failed
to follow up his charges. I must admit that, in view of what had
already appeared in the Press on the subject of German "conspiracies,"
I had expected that definite proceedings would be taken on this
charge, if they were taken at all; and apparently the members of
the Senate Committee were also of this opinion, for one of them
expressly asked Mr. Bielaski if he had any evidence to produce
on the subject. His reply was: "I know very little, if anything,
of that; I don't think that during our neutrality there were any
instances of criminal activities of that kind."

Again, the Bureau for the Employment of German Workers, which was
likewise at one time proclaimed as a device or cloak for a dangerous
"German Conspiracy," was not mentioned in Bielaski's catalogue,
which conclusively proves that this calumny had been allowed to
drop. The offic