ved the employment
of all our available arts of persuasion, we may well reply that
we have, despite our grave difficulties, averted the severance of
diplomatic relations and the inevitable war that must have followed.
The former possibility, at all events, was at one time considerably
more probable than most people in Germany are aware of.

"There could have been but one opinion among those I who saw and
felt it as to the popular attitude of mind during the first few
weeks following the _Lusitania_ incident. In such circumstances
we had only one possible resource left to us, to gain time, and
hope for the restoration of a more friendly disposition in this
country. The continuation of negotiations rendered this contingency
possible; and so matters eventually turned out.

"We can hope for further results only if the American Government
decides to institute simultaneous negotiations with Berlin and
London, with the object of bringing about a settlement. Our own views
and those of America are radically divergent, and no mere one-sided
discussion between us can bridge the gulf. The American Government
went too far in its first Note to allow of its withdrawing now;
although it admits our submarine campaign to have been a legitimate
form of reprisal against the English hunger blockade, it still
persists in holding us responsible for damage to American lives
and limbs resulting from these reprisals. Put briefly the demands
of the United States are therefore:

"1. A full apology in some form or other, and indemnification for
the lives lost in the _Lusitania_.

"2. An undertaking that no passenger ships shall in future be sunk
without preliminary warning.

"The latest Note from America, which is already on its way to Berlin,
will in a sense bring the negotiations to a conclusion, as the
Government want to have a definite basis of agreement which may
form the foundation of their discussions with England. In my
conversations with Mr. Lansing I have been given to understand
that the Government wish to know verbally or in writing whether
we are in a position to incline somewhat to the American point of
view, and whether we can see our way to assist the present Government
to secure by means of joint conversations with Germany and England
the freedom of the seas, which has always been the main object
of Mr. Wilson's endeavors."

Dr. Dernburg returned to Germany in the middle of June, having
been provided, by request of t