Military Attaches,
Mr. Wilson's real purpose was to give the lie to those accusations
of weakness which the Entente party was constantly casting in his
teeth, and this, I thought, accounted for the unwonted sternness of
the American Note, which seemed absolutely to challenge a rupture.
It was not conceivable that the Austrian Government could swallow
this bitter pill, while from the point of view of the American
Government, the breaking-off of relations would be a real diplomatic
victory; for on the one hand the political situation would remain
unchanged so long as the German Embassy was in Washington, and
on the other hand, Mr. Wilson would have achieved his object and
shown the Berlin Government that his threats of war were seriously
meant.

However, the Austro-Hungarian Government, after a short further
exchange of Notes, complied under protest with the American demands.
I learned after my return home that in so doing, they acted under
pressure from the German Foreign Office. Thus, this crisis also
blew over, not, however, without a serious loss of prestige for
the Central Powers, who had been compelled to yield to demands
generally regarded as utterly unacceptable. Nothing could be more
fatal to our position in the world than this alternation of defiance
and submission, which served no diplomatic object and merely betrayed
infirmity of purpose.

CHAPTER VIII

THE SECOND "LUSITANIA" CRISIS

In Germany, and particularly before the Committee of the National
Assembly, the American Government has been reproached with _mala
fides_ for having unnecessarily reopened the _Lusitania_ question.
The line of argument is approximately as follows:

After the settlement of the _Arabic_ case one can suspect the obstinate
harping on the _Lusitania_ affair, which had really died down, as
a sign of _mala fides_. Did the Americans want to secure a fresh
diplomatic success against us? They had already carried their principle
with the settlement of the _Arabic_ case; was their object now
to make a still greater splash? The continued possibility of a
conflict with Germany--which was quite within practical politics
if nothing intervened--made a very favorable background to make
clear to American public opinion, in conjunction with a campaign
on the same lines by Wilson himself, the following point: "We must
get ourselves out of this situation pregnant with war by vindicating
our right with both sides."

Apart from the fact